Cao Yun was extremely confident in his stealth, but he wasn't overconfident. Although Xiao Xuefeng herself couldn't easily detect him, she would have been able to sense something strange if he stayed too long, too close to her. As such, he wasn't arrogant enough to think he could fool a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior like Emperor Weide, or his inner guards, for very long. Thankfully, he also knew the layout of most of the Everlasting Earth Palace. Unfortunately, Sun Liao didn't know everything, but he still knew a lot about the array formations set all over the Imperial City and the palace.
For a genius like Sun Liao, it wasn't too difficult to accurately guess what he didn't know. After all, he had worked for several years on many of those array formations. As a result, Cao Yun knew almost everything he needed to know in order to infiltrate the palace without being noticed. As long as he was extremely careful and didn't go too close to Emperor Weide, he was confident in his success.
Several ideas were fighting each other within Cao Yun's mind. His original plan was simple enough on paper. Emperor Weide would swallow the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill with Director Hua and her alchemists helping him. As such, he would obviously be isolated, far from most witnesses. Besides, the Everlasting Earth Palace itself was protected by many layers. If he attempted to undergo the Greater Tribulation, Emperor Weide would obviously conceal everything as much as possible, for two reasons. The first one was that he would want to hide a failure. But the most important reason was that he couldn't really kill a young girl whom people thought was his daughter in front of everyone.
Just after taking the pill, Director Hua and the others would secretly help the Shattered Soul Hellbloom while pretending to help Emperor Weide absorb the medicinal essence. If everything went well, it would kill him instantly. Of course, Cao Yun was almost certain it wouldn't be so smooth. Thus, he had prepared contingencies. Unbeknownst to all, he had hidden another layer of attack within the pill. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn't kill Emperor Weide straight away.
If they were very lucky, they could make it appear to be a simple accident and avoid any confrontation. However, a terrible sensation was tingling behind Cao Yun's skull. Despite all his preparations, he was absolutely convinced that it would fail. Of course, he had not said so to Director Hua, but he had warned his brothers and sister, though. Although she was an ally, Cao Yun didn't want Director Hua to retreat or change her mind. Besides, he had another plan. If everything else failed, Cao Yun was ready to kill Emperor Weide himself. Instead of an accident of cultivation, Cao Yun might be able to make it look like an assassination attempt by the Empyrean Asura in person. Even if it would create shock among humans, it would also help rally them all.
Everything happening after Emperor Weide's death was in Huang Cixi's hands, more or less. Of course, she wasn't alone. But the truth of the matter was that she controlled the key aspects of the stability of the Hongchen Kingdom. On the other hand, Cao Yun already had several plans to take down the Empyrean Asura Theocracy from within. While Huang Cixi would make sure the humans stayed strong, and maybe even became stronger, Cao Yun would weaken the fanatics following the Empyrean Asura. He knew he could save both his sister and his people. Anyway, he wouldn't choose between them. He couldn't choose. Or more accurately, he was afraid of the choice he would make, so he never dared think about it...
Although Cao Yun had many plans and contingencies in mind, there was still a terrible foreboding plaguing his mind. Somehow, he felt that something absolutely horrifying was going to happen. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt it as much as he felt the killing intent all around him. All his organs were cold, and he felt nauseous. For such a powerful cultivator, this was extremely unusual. Yes, some of it was due to the killing intent he had to take on directly, but it wasn't just that, and he knew it.
Anyway, the young man crossed the exterior courtyard in a very slow manner. This forced him to take more and more of the killing intent, but it preserved his stealth. Honestly, it was absolute torture, even compared to everything he had experienced. If Cao Yun hadn't developed his understanding of the soul, his Hun might have caved in. Thankfully, his Po could protect him. In fact, Cao Yun literally turned a part of his Po into pure Death Energy to protect his Soul Embryo. That being said, there was intense pressure on Cao Yun's soul and mind. Consequently, it ironically deepened his soul cultivation a little. It wasn't much, but everything was good considering Cao Yun's level. Besides, as he was focused on so many other things, Cao Yun completely disregarded his soul cultivation. That alone was good, as it was helping his soul mix more naturally with his Soul Embryo. Obviously, he wasn't getting too close to the 8th-grade Spirit Warrior stage, but he was undoubtedly getting closer.
The young man finally got to the Everlasting Earth Palace's side wing. Unfortunately, Sun Liao didn't know the exact layout of the rooms within the palace. However, they could make some educated guesses based on the array formations. Indeed, Cao Yun was confident that Yong Ke would be in the most secure room. Thinking about it, he hesitated. Should he get to her now? He might be able to extract her and save her. That being said, she probably wouldn't believe him. She might even attack him. Last time they saw each other, she had not recognized him at all. It was unlikely that she would recognize him now. Besides, Emperor Weide had most likely poisoned her mind all those years.
Deep down, Cao Yun absolutely wanted to go see his sister, but he could only imagine catastrophic scenarios. In the end, he didn't change his plans. He would go toward Emperor Weide first. He had to wait for the perfect opportunity to strike.
As he was moving along the corridors, Cao Yun saw several guards. With all the caution he could muster, Cao Yun stayed as invisible as possible. No guard was able to sense his presence at all. Unlike Director Hua's group, it took Cao Yun a few hours to get near the wing where Emperor Weide would consume the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill. According to the plans provided by Sun Liao and some guesswork, they were quite close to where Yong Ke was, Cao Huiying. Soon after taking the pill, Emperor Weide would obviously slay her and rip her Soul Embryo out of her body in order to improve his chances of breaking through. Even if everything about the women of the Shui family was true, Emperor Weide would almost assuredly become a Sage. After that, he would be untouchable by Cao Yun. More than that, it would mean that his sister was dead. That couldn't happen.
Finally, Cao Yun was close enough that he could act. Indeed, he could feel what was going on in the nearby room. Pushing his 'Ashen Feather Seal' to its utter limit, Cao Yun stopped moving and even breathing. He was now only waiting for the opportunity to strike.
-
Director Hua's group had been led into a somewhat small room. The alchemists were all able to get into the room, but the space was quite narrow. Slowly, a door opened. They were all surprised to see Emperor Weide in person. His mere presence changed the atmosphere of the room. All the alchemists, even Director Hua, kowtowed before the Emperor. For a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior, he was a middle-aged man. After all, he had lived for around 1,500 years. Mere mortals would already consider that to be immortality. In fact, for Emperor Weide, the difference wasn't that important. However, such an age also meant that it would be almost impossible for him to become truly immortal. Indeed, the Sage realm and then the Monarch realm wouldn't alter the lifespan of a cultivator, or would change it only marginally. However, it could take somewhere between five hundred and a thousand years for an average cultivator to go through those two realms in order to become an Immortal.
While a late Spirit Warrior could live for two millennia, a 1st-grade Immortal could live for more than twice that long. Moreover, an Immortal's lifespan would increase almost exponentially with each stage, slowly at the beginning and at a crazy rate, especially after breaking through to the next realm. In other words, Emperor Weide might be slightly able to reach the end of the Monarch realm, but his chances of becoming an Immortal were already slim. If he waited any longer, he would simply have no chances. Even now, he could still hope to succeed.
Emperor Weide's presence was soothing, there was a nobility around him. But it wasn't reassuring or even calm. Honestly, the sensation was quite strange. Before the alchemists, they could feel raw strength and pure power. They all knew this man was the most powerful human being on the Piaolu planet and potentially the strongest being. Hopefully, he was stronger than the Empyrean Asura. He might be able to eradicate them all very easily, especially in his palace. However, this intense strength wasn't felt as ferocity, it was felt as their own strength. Being in his presence made them feel powerful, and it soothed them as they could imagine victory. Besides, they had a pill that could ensure victory if Emperor Weide succeeded.
Emperor Weide spoke first as he helped Director Hua up directly. Being approached and even touched by the Emperor was exceptional and not something that would happen out in public.
"Director, we are absolutely delighted by your success. No matter what happens today, you will be remembered as the hero of the humankind."
Of course, for that to be true, there had to be humankind in the future. Anyway, Director Hua was very good at hiding her real emotions and showed what was expected of her.
"Venerable Emperor, this humble one wouldn't dare claim such honors. My Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute all worked together in order to produce this Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill."
As she spoke, Xiao Xuefeng opened the box containing the best Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill. The medicinal aroma alone was enticing. Unlike the other alchemists, though, Emperor Weide controlled himself and didn't look at the pill directly. Instead, he kept on congratulating Director Hua and then Spirit Master Xiao. After that, he talked some more with each and every one of the alchemists. Emperor Weide truly took his time and emphasized how much each and every single alchemist was a treasure of the Hongchen Kingdom. Honestly, at some point, it almost became ridiculous. But this was precisely when Emperor Weide stopped.
Most of the alchemists were led out of the room, and only a small number stayed behind, namely Hua Fenfei, Xiao Xuefeng, Wei Tonghe, Han Ziyu, Qin Rui, and Feng Yingyue. Mei Hua also left with the others. Sun Liao was waiting for her outside the room with Ren Chao. All of them looked at each other. Unlike all the other alchemists around them, the trio knew exactly what was about to happen. Their hearts almost stopped. The fate of their brother and of their entire kind was at risk here and now. And they couldn't do a thing to help, they had already done everything they could. All three of them felt how utterly pathetic and weak they were. They absolutely needed to become stronger. Soon, Cao Yun would leave them behind in the dust. Indeed, not a single one of them even entertained the possibility that Cao Yun would die. They would rather die themselves first. In fact, they were ready to give their lives if necessary. Ren Chao thought about his kids, but he knew that Wang Mei would be fine without him. He pushed these dark thoughts away immediately, he wouldn't die, and neither would his brothers and sister. The traitor would die!
Several array formations were activated. The room in which Emperor Weide and the alchemists were was now completely sealed from this side. However, there was still a small door. As the Emperor left through this door, Director Hua's group was invited to follow him. Then, they went down various stairs and entered a very large room that was directly under the Everlasting Earth Palace. The room was much larger, and all the alchemists could have fit in here. It had clearly been prepared specifically for Emperor Weide's breakthrough.
Before sealing this cultivation room, Emperor Weide gave out a few orders. From another gate, a small figure entered the large room. Director Hua wasn't too sure who she was, but Xiao Xuefeng recognized her immediately.
Outside the room, Cao Yun was standing perfectly still, even his chest wasn't moving. However, he had a small movement when he sensed the entrance of a young girl in the large room. There was absolutely no possible doubt. She was Yong Ke, Emperor Weide's daughter. More than that, she was Cao Huiying, Cao Yun's little sister. Would Emperor Weide sacrifice her before taking the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill? Should Cao Yun intervene right now?
If Cao Yun broke into the room, he knew that he would most likely fail. But if he waited and Emperor Weide killed her, he would not only fail, he would lose the most precious thing he had in the world. He would betray his parents and his sister. Should he act?
Cao Yun was totally paralyzed, but for completely different reasons now. While tormented by doubts, Cao Yun kept on observing as Cao Huiying walked toward Emperor Weide. She bowed before him.
"I am ready, Father. We can begin the Greater Tribulation!"