For Cao Yun, time stood still. Among the alchemists, Wei Tonghe, Han Ziyu, and Qin Rui were not even aware of what was going on. On the other hand, Director Hua, Xiao Xuefeng, and Feng Yingyue were all very aware of the situation. In fact, as soon as the attack began, Xiao Xuefeng started going toward Yong Ke. Obviously, she would make it look like she was protecting the princess. In truth, she would make sure that Yong Ke didn't interfere with Cao Yun. With her in the mix, Cao Yun wouldn't be able to go all-out. At the same time, Emperor Weide wouldn't want Yong Ke to interfere either. As such, Emperor Weide's guards would support Xiao Xuefeng, undoubtedly.
For Feng Yingyue, it was the hardest. Indeed, she wanted to go help her Dao partner. Unfortunately, she could do nothing. Not only were Cao Yun and Emperor Weide much more powerful than she was, but she would most likely hinder Cao Yun for nothing, and put her Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute at risk. Following Xiao Xuefeng's example, Feng Yingyue would make sure that Cao Yun's brothers and sister wouldn't interfere. Now, only Cao Yun could handle the situation. But what if he failed...?
Emperor Weide didn't seem to react at all. Even when he saw the terrified face of his own daughter, he didn't move an inch. All around his body, there was a powerful killing intent. Emperor Weide had fought Empyrean Asura before. The current killing intent that congealed around him at this moment was even stronger. The demon who was coming for his life hated him with every fiber of his being. Within Emperor Weide's sea of consciousness, seven large, horrifying shadows appeared.
As a successor of Emperor Nuwa, Emperor Weide had learned the most powerful martial arts left behind by the progenitor of the current Hongchen Kingdom. In his sea of consciousness, there were three large jade seals floating in the air.
The first seal was a sculpture of a giant dragon coiled around a single pearl, its five claws sunk deep into it. The dragon formed a perfect circle, its scales interlocking without the slightest gap. The pearl at its center reflected mountains, cities, armies, and rivers, all reduced to faint, distorted silhouettes. No matter how violently the images shifted within, the dragon never loosened its grip. The entire world was united under the tyrannical protection of the dragon.
The second seal showed a colossal mountain carved from jade, rising sheer and absolute. Countless chains pierced its body from all directions, emerging from the stone only to descend downward, vanishing into the base of the seal itself. Some chains were thick and worn, others thin and newly formed, but all were taut with sharp swords holding them in place. All of existence was chained down and crushed by the chains of duty.
Finally, the third seal was ever-changing. It almost seemed to be made of living metal. The jade was made of a myriad of pale threads. They were weaving through one another in an ever-shifting pattern. They knotted, separated, and rejoined endlessly, forming a vast, silent tapestry. Some threads glowed brightly, others flickered as if on the verge of snapping. Staring at them for too long gave the illusion that they extended beyond the seal, piercing past, present, and future alike. No matter how long one looked at them, they didn't seem to move, and yet, their pattern was never the same. One's eyes couldn't help but try to follow a thread. However, the thread suddenly became another thread, and the previous pattern disappeared as though it had never existed. No one could discern the true fate of all things.
In the infinite sky, a gigantic palace was reflected in the blue ocean below. It was made of gold and jade, but it was completely empty. Although it was large enough to harbor the entire population of the Hongchen Kingdom several times, it would never be inhabited by anyone. Only true gods and immortals could live there.
Suddenly, cracks appeared in the palace, and the seals began to dim. Huge shadows shifted on the surface of the ocean as gloomy clouds drifted in the sky. Cao Yun's seven Turbid Demons were already affecting Emperor Weide's sea of consciousness. In the center of the sea, a man in silver armor was floating, sitting cross-legged. His eyes were closed even as the shadows were gathering around him. His face was serene, but there was a hidden ferocity in it. Obviously, he looked exactly like Emperor Weide, as it was the representation of his Soul Embryo.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, and a golden light shot out everywhere. The seals vibrated and chimed. The palace was fully illuminated as imperial decrees were being chanted from its innermost sanctum. All seven shadows were pushed back and obliterated. Light crushed them.
In the physical world, Cao Yun's fingers were reaching for Emperor Weide's neck. Even a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior would be severely injured or even killed by such a surprise attack. Although Cao Yun had no illusion about killing Emperor Weide with one strike, he hoped to injure him so much that he could easily win. However, he felt a backlash from his mental attack. A sudden golden light assaulted his eyes. Cao Yun relied on his spiritual senses even as Emperor Weide's were pushing against them.
Seal of Crushing Duty!
A physical seal leapt out of Emperor Weide's spatial ring and appeared right in front of Cao Yun's fingers. The young man felt that this seal was sturdy enough to literally break his fingers. As such, he altered his trajectory at the very last moment. His arm went for Emperor Weide's shoulder instead. Then, his fingers sank into his scapula. Unfortunately, he felt a terrifying wall. Under his clothes, Emperor Weide was wearing the armor Ren Chao had forged for him.
Using all of his strength, Cao Yun's fingers couldn't easily pierce through such a defense, only his new spear could do so. Alas, Cao Yun had no time at all as Emperor Weide was finally snapping back to reality despite his 'Weeping Demon' mental attack. With no hesitation, Cao Yun followed up on his movement. If his fingers couldn't pierce the armor fast enough, he closed his fist and struck with all his strength. The principle of 'Slaughtering the Enemy' was added to his punch.
Emperor Weide felt a devastating wave go through his armor and directly into his shoulder. Even he could feel his tendons, ligaments, muscles, and bones, all being assaulted at the same time. Several of his blood vessels ruptured, and his very Qi was shaken. Ironically, it helped bring him back to reality even faster. Slowly, his Wei Qi was getting stronger and stronger. But Cao Yun wasn't done yet. Taken by his own momentum, Cao Yun unleashed his elbow and used 'Breaking the Formation'.
By that time, Cao Yun's blood cultivation was fully revealed. For all intents and purposes, he was a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. With his strength, he could grind the bones of any Spirit Warrior. However, Spirit Warriors could use Qi and spiritual senses to strengthen their flesh. This was exactly what Emperor Weide was doing at the moment. Thankfully, Cao Yun's elbow struck his back before Emperor Weide was fully ready. Everyone heard a terrifying sound as Cao Yun's strike broke some of the vertebrae protected by Ren Chao's armor. Without this miraculous armor, Emperor Weide's entire upper body would have been reduced to mush in that attack.
Before Cao Yun could finally take out his spear, the floating Seal of Crushing Duty flew right into his face. Even the young man couldn't tell which material had been used, but it was clearly a treasure from Emperor Nuwa's time, maybe even from the Legendary Era. Cao Yun knew he couldn't break it, but it could absolutely break him. As such, the young man tried to dodge as fast as he could.
'Cutting the Retreat'!
In an instant, Cao Yun was on the other side of the room, infusing his simple movement technique with his understanding of the concept of Wind. However, it wasn't enough. The Seal of Crushing Duty followed him with unrelenting effort. Instead of wasting his strength avoiding it, Cao Yun had enough time to take out his 'Dark Abyss Wrathful Serpent Spear'.
With his full Spear Heart, Cao Yun's spear turned into a gigantic Ebony Snake Dragon. Its terrible maw grabbed the seal, but its own fangs began to shatter. Suddenly, its tail struck it, sending the seal flying away. At the same time, the backlash from that attack sent Cao Yun flying as well. The young man quite literally went through dozens of layers as he was thrown into the air. In an instant, he found himself emerging from an underground cultivation chamber into the open air.
Before he could regain his senses, he felt a terrifying presence right in front of him. Emperor Weide was there. He had fully recovered and was ready for a fight.
Behind Emperor Weide, there were three imperial seals, the treasures of Emperor Nuwa, the Seal of Crushing Duty, the Seal of Absolute Unity, and the Seal of Destiny Threads. Emperor Weide's clothes were now torn apart, and everyone could see the incredible armor forged by Ren Chao himself. Even where Cao Yun had struck with all of his strength, one could only see a tiny dent. That being said, Cao Yun could clearly tell that Emperor Weide was injured. There was a very thin trail of blood from the corner of his mouth into his beard. Despite his best efforts, Emperor Weide couldn't hide some pain in his eyes. Besides, his posture was very slightly off. At the moment, his right shoulder was almost unusable, and his back was quite literally still trying to heal itself.
All that being said, it didn't soften Emperor Weide's aura. In his left hand, he was holding a splendid sword. Although anyone would have found it superb and immaculate, Cao Yun could see fresh blood on it, he could hear the wails of its victims and literally feel its sharpness on his own neck. Emperor Weide was going all-out.
Even if they were out in the open, Cao Yun was confident that no one would recognize him as he was in his full asura form. Obviously, Emperor Weide himself was convinced that Cao Yun was in fact an assassin sent by Empyrean Asura himself. The vile demon had waited for the right opportunity to strike him. After using a mental attack to subdue him, the demon tried to take the Emperor's head. Deep down, Emperor Weide was thankful that he had not attacked his daughter, Yong Ke. So long as she lived, Emperor Weide had the hope he could become a Sage. Nothing else mattered at the moment.
Emperor Weide wouldn't even try to engage the demon with words, he would slay it as fast as possible. Immediately, he activated all the array formations of the capital. He didn't just want to trap the demon within, he also wanted to kill him in an instant. Fighting a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon wasn't an easy feat, even for Emperor Weide, especially not after being injured. More than that, Emperor Weide was worried that Yong Ke or the essential alchemists would be killed. Sun Liao and Ren Chao were also here, they were all extremely important to the defense of the Hongchen Kingdom.
In fact, Emperor Weide didn't even imagine that this demon could successfully kill him. Instead, Emperor Weide was worried about the war against the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, even now. He couldn't allow this demon to cripple the Hongchen Kingdom, no matter what. He could accept a lot of sacrifices among the people of the capital, but some assets simply couldn't be replaced.
All those thoughts passed through Emperor Weide's mind in an instant. Contrary to his expectations, the demon didn't attack or flee. Instead, Cao Yun simply waited. Emperor Weide was intrigued and worried, but it gave his soldiers enough time to surround the Everlasting Earth Palace. The demon was done for, no doubt about it. All the array formations were activated. But suddenly, the coy smile of the demon froze Emperor Weide's blood.
In an instant, the array formations turned against Emperor Weide and his guards. Thousands of swords appeared from Cao Yun's spatial ring and flew toward the guards. Behind Cao Yun, eight concentric circles of swords remained. The sky turned fully black, and the entire world outside the Imperial City disappeared from existence. The city was fully isolated by one of the most powerful 5-star Heaven array formations in existence. Emperor Weide couldn't suspect Sun Liao had betrayed him. As such, he got worried, thinking that this demon had spied on them since the beginning, before they even set up those array formations. But if he knew everything...
All the guards were fighting the swords sent by Cao Yun. Although they wouldn't have been enough to keep so many powerful cultivators away, they only served to isolate them and to throw them into various portions of the array formations. The weaker guards had absolutely no way to fight back. But even the stronger ones got distracted and fell prey to Sun Liao's illusory and offensive array formations. Cao Yun's goal was simply to buy enough time to fight Emperor Weide alone. Turning his own defenses against him surprised the Emperor beyond measure.
Now, Emperor Weide unleashed all of his aura. At that moment, Cao Yun realized that the Emperor had mastered the Sword Spirit. Indeed, the weapon in his left hand wasn't a mere sword, it was a spiritual weapon. This was the kind of weapon that would get stronger along with its master. Quite literally, this sword was made of Emperor Weide's understanding of the Dao of Sword. Against Cao Yun's 1-star Spirit weapon, it was clearly more than a match.
"We don't know who you are, but it is time for you to die!"