For the better part of a decade, Sun Liao had served Emperor Weide directly. In fact, he was among the most precious cultivators in the Hongchen Kingdom. As such, he was privy to a lot of information. In fact, he clearly knew that the war was not going their way. Without the protection of the array formations left behind by Emperor Nuwa, mankind would have fallen already. Upon hearing about Cao Yun's sister, Sun Liao thought about Emperor Weide. If he could actually break through and become a Sage, mankind would stand a better chance.
Just as this thought emerged, another thought pierced Sun Liao's heart. He could betray his brothers and save the Hongchen Kingdom. As soon as this thought occurred to him, Sun Liao rejected it and was horrified by his own thoughts. Without a moment's delay, he kowtowed before his brothers and sister.
"I have served your enemy. Even now, I still serve him. My array formations are defending the Imperial City. My own thoughts betray you. I'm not worthy of being your brother. Even though I swore to live and die with you, I hastened your demise. Not even my life can make up for it."
Ren Chao was the first to get to Sun Liao. He grabbed his arm and simply put him back on his feet.
"Come on, Brother. Don't be so dramatic, it's unsightly."
As Ren Chao chuckled, Cao Yun remembered Ren Chao's own behavior when he had learned the truth... Mei Hua could also imagine it without any problem. That being said, they didn't want to ruin that moment.
"Brother Ren is right. You didn't serve my enemy, you served our Hongchen Kingdom. Thanks to you, I know that our kingdom was stronger. I've seen your work in the Wubei Sect, this was very impressive."
Suddenly, Dian Mo couldn't contain himself, and his voice deafened Cao Yun.
"Impressive?! Don't go too far. Yes, it was clever. But I could have thought of it myself if you had asked. Of course, I never had any incentive to improve your sect's array formations so I didn't look into it. But given a few years, I would have come to the same conclusions. In fact, I would have done a better job than..."
Before Dian Mo could finish his thought, Sun Liao's words pierced him.
"Brother, this was nothing. I barely spent a month on those array formations. Honestly, it was more me playing around than anything else. On that matter, I was actually going back to the Wubei Sect after my last assignment. The array formations needed to be improved even more."
Even though he was only a spirit, Cao Yun could tell that Dian Mo was seething. Despite him trying to concede some ground, Sun Liao had destroyed his arrogance in an instant.
"That...! That insignificant brat! Playing around?! I'll show him! I'll play around with his bones! I'm sure they would make great material for an array formation!"
Cao Yun tried to ignore Dian Mo as much as he could. There were very important matters he had to discuss with Sun Liao and his brothers. But it was extremely difficult.
"Ask that stupid pompous brat where that knowledge came from! I'm sure it wasn't from him, he stole it! He stole it! That's the only explanation. And now, he's trying to pass it off as his own. Ask him! And, don't let him fool you! He's a trickster in pure form, evil!"
"Brother, I have to admit that your ideas..."
"HIS ideas?! They couldn't possibly be his ideas! Stop stroking his ego and get to the point!"
It was even difficult to talk with Dian Mo yelling in Cao Yun's mind. Of course, Cao Yun could completely isolate him, but Dian Mo was quite useful and he didn't want to lose him for something so ridiculous.
"Well, they were extremely interesting. Might I ask how you got them?"
"He stole them, of course! Where did he get them?!"
"Brother, I studied the book I received from the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Whoever wrote that book was most likely a genius. It was even more advanced than some treatises by Saint Duan Huang himself. At first, I was lost within the more advanced teachings. Fortunately, your mind cultivation was excellent and helped me decipher a lot of it. But... in the end, what truly helped me was my master."
"Chief Elder Suxian?!"
Cao Yun, Mei Hua and Ren Chao were all surprised.
"Yes, my master cannot be conscious all the time, but I've found ways to communicate with him thanks to the 'Crossing the Three Chasms in the Eight Directions'. Although the book mainly talks about using array formations to cultivate, I was able to alter other array formations to connect with the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Then, Chief Elder Suxian's soul had been sending me more knowledge. Most of it came from the previous spirit of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. It was clearly a great master as well. Thanks to his accumulated knowledge, my progress had been faster than ever before. In my heart, I already acknowledged him as my master too."
"What a great kid!"
Suddenly, Dian Mo's tone changed completely. Internally, Cao Yun let out a sigh.
Anyway, they had more important things to talk about.
"Brothers, Sister, I found many uses for array formations that might help you cultivate even faster without endangering your foundation. Of course, when it comes to you, Brother Chen... I mean, Brother Cao. You won't gain much, but it might help you stabilize your foundation faster."
"Thank you, Brother. I wanted to talk about your array formations precisely. I think it is high time that I tell you about my plans. With Brother Sun's help, things might be even easier. Brother Sun, if I asked you to, could you activate the array formations of the Imperial City? Could you seal the entire Imperial City with Emperor Weide within?"
"I... I might be able to, but I can't honestly promise anything. At the very least, I can tell you how to avoid triggering them and get in stealthily. But, when it comes to activating them, and more importantly, getting them up, it's another matter entirely. Apart from Emperor Weide himself, and short of an actual attack, it would be very difficult."
"An attack?! If a powerful demon is detected, would the Imperial City be sealed?"
"Well, it depends on the demon. But, in theory, the presence of a late Accomplished Demon would do the trick. The array formations would completely isolate the Imperial City and do everything to annihilate the demon."
"That's good to know, but a bit risky for what I had in mind. Brothers, Sister, I had several ideas and my plan isn't perfect, but here is what I have."
Even though they were isolated, Cao Yun used his full stealth and his spiritual senses to send his thoughts in their minds directly. It would be almost impossible for anyone in the Hongchen Kingdom to catch any of this, short of actually assaulting their minds.
"Since Emperor Weide needed the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu to improve his chances of absorbing my sister's Soul Embryo, I knew that losing it would delay him. Besides, he would obviously jump at the chance to get a pill that could help him break through. Thus, I will help refine the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill for him. But I plan on putting the Shattered Soul Hellbloom poison in it. I have no illusions on the matter. It won't kill him, but it will hurt him a lot. Hopefully, it will be enough for him to be slain.
"The very moment he takes the pill, I need to strike him with all my strength. I'll need to have a thorough knowledge of all the array formations in the Imperial City in order to be able to fight unhindered. With Ren Chao's weapon, my own cultivation, and the poison, I'm convinced that I can, at the very least, wound him severely. Although I am confident, I'll need to be ready to disappear with my sister, if need be. For that, I already prepared other poisons to knock her out. Unfortunately, she probably believes him to be a great man and won't be easily convinced of his treachery. But, hopefully, it won't be necessary and he'll fall right away.
"Honestly, killing Emperor Weide isn't the main part of the plan. I wanted him to know who had killed him. I wanted him to be publicly unmasked. But the stability of the Hongchen Kingdom is much more important. Moreover, killing him through stealth will be much easier.
"The real problems begin after he's dead. The best outcome would be to blame his death directly on the Empyrean Asura. I thought of several possibilities, but I don't want to break apart our Hongchen Kingdom. If we try to blame it on demonic cultivators or on spies within humans, it could split us apart and increase the rampant paranoia I've already witnessed. No, we need to put the blame on Empyrean Asura himself. Thankfully, I took some of his blood and I even have a part of his very soul. I've been working on it, but I can leave enough of his presence behind to implicate him directly. From what you've told me, it might even seal the entire Imperial City. If it happens, it will play to our advantage... if I can get out, of course.
"Matriarch Huang and Sect Leader Xuan are already getting ready to take over. I have no doubt that Matriarch Huang will have everything planned. The death of Emperor Weide shouldn't have much of a negative impact. However, it will galvanize the people. In fact, my only concern is for the succession. Emperor Weide had no time to choose a successor. Having no Emperor during a period of war would be a major flaw. That is why I also plan on destabilizing the Empyrean Asura Theocracy.
"I already planted several seeds. Not only will I free most of the slaves, but I will also raise a rebellion. I control the Sisters of the Abyss, a powerful religion among the demons. Considering that the slaves are all from the Desolate Sepulcher, they all worship the Weaver of Souls and the Sisters of the Abyss. I probably won't be able to overthrow the current religions on the continent, but I'll certainly shake them up. Division within the demons has always been their greatest weakness.
"While we'll be disorganized, they'll be too. Besides, the Empyrean Asura is currently too busy to even act in person. We can shake his foundation. Make him bleed and I can assure you that most demons will want a piece of his flesh. Then, we can strengthen ourselves and get ready. Hopefully, the demons could kill the Empyrean Asura themselves and even topple the Empyrean Asura Theocracy."
Mei Hua, Ren Chao and Sun Liao listened to Cao Yun's words. Then, he went into more detail, especially concerning the demons and their religion. After all, Cao Yun knew more than anyone about the demons, considering how long he had stayed among them.
Finally, Mei Hua spoke first.
"I can't say that your plan couldn't work. In fact, since it mostly relies on creating chaos, it has a higher chance of working. It's always easier to sow chaos and conflict than peace and order, especially among demons. However, I do think that you're treating Emperor Weide too lightly. No matter how high your cultivation is, he's a terrifying opponent. After all, even though he's not even a Sage, he has a pseudo-Domain. Do not think that killing him will be easy."
"Sister, I hear your concern. I assure you I don't think that at all. With my stealth and the poison combined, I think that my chances of success are very high. But I will rely on everything I have, even Brother Sun's array formations. In one strike, I'll have to pour everything I can into it. If it doesn't take him down instantly, I can still pin the attack on the Empyrean Asura. If Emperor Weide goes to fight him himself, the two of them might actually kill each other. But, honestly, I do hope to kill him myself. In fact, I have to."
Sun Liao thought some more about the matter.
"I imagine that Director Hua, Matriarch Huang and Sect Leader Xuan all know your intention?"
"Of course. Without them, it would be harder to maintain peace and order within the Hongchen Kingdom. In fact, with Emperor Weide slain, they'll be the ones to help decide a new emperor. With her great influence, I'm pretty sure Matriarch Huang will have the last word on the matter. But they'll make deals to gain more influence within the Hongchen Kingdom. That is why I needed them all to agree on my plan. If they can get along, the Hongchen Kingdom's stability is ensured."
"Honestly, I need to hear more about what you've prepared. I'll tell you everything I know about all the array formations I personally set or maintained."
"Thank you, Brother."
Cao Yun could still see doubts in Sun Liao's eyes, but Cao Yun had been able to convince him that it was feasible. Mei Hua was also a bit perplexed. The two of them thought that this plan was risky. After all, Cao Yun didn't go into details on how he hoped to kill Emperor Weide and acted as though it was a done deal. By revealing his asura cultivation, it was almost certain he could win, especially if Emperor Weide was injured. But in that case, the array formations of Emperor Nuwa would turn against him. He might be able to slay Emperor Weide, but he would die the very next moment.
His brothers were worried that Cao Yun didn't plan on surviving this attack. The only one who didn't have this thought was Ren Chao. Honestly, he didn't understand, nor did he care, about politics or religion, in the slightest. However, he could tell that the atmosphere was tense. As such, he took a serious expression and stayed silent.
Over the next few days, Sun Liao talked about array formations. After talking about the Imperial City, they shifted to the array formations required for the refinement of the pill. More than that, they had to focus on how to put the poison in the pill.