Cao Yun's spear was bending under the weight of Emperor Weide's Sword Spirit. Just being close to his Sword Spirit, Cao Yun felt as though he was being sliced and stabbed by it, not just in his flesh but in his very soul. Within his sea of consciousness, his own Sword Intent was cowering while his Spear Heart was raging as it was trying to fend off the assault. Although it felt like an eternity had passed, the two men only crossed eyes for an instant. Cao Yun's 'Weeping Demon' had very little effect on Emperor Weide, even up close. However, something passed through them as they looked deep into each other's eyes.
Emperor Weide's sword didn't stay immobile, of course. Since he had failed to alter the course of Cao Yun's spear and had now failed to cleave it in two, Emperor Weide's attack evolved. His armor was already starting to crack a little, and Emperor Weide understood how dangerous this weapon and this martial artist were. Thus, his Sword Spirit's edge rotated and faced Cao Yun's arms. It suddenly went straight for the young man's wrist.
Reacting as fast as Emperor Weide, Cao Yun poured all of his physical strength, supported by his spiritual senses and his Golden Blood, into the 'Dark Abyss Wrathful Serpent Spear'. The scream of a dragon echoed and almost ruptured the two men's ears. The already bent spear suddenly vibrated like a zither's string. Immediately, it collided with the edge of the sword and sent it upward. The vibrations also sent both men a little apart.
Instead of trying to take some more distance so that his spear would have the advantage, Cao Yun flew forward. Breaking Emperor Weide's expectations, Cao Yun was able to take him by surprise before he could regain control of his sword, whose momentum had sent it upward.
'Cracking the World'!
Using a natural move from 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars', the butt of Cao Yun's spear struck Emperor Weide's armor exactly where the tip of the spear had hit him. As it had already been cracked a little, it suddenly exploded. Emperor Weide's chest was now fully exposed. Ren Chao's work had been incredible, but his forging of weapons was clearly superior. In Cao Yun's hands, his 'Dark Abyss Wrathful Serpent Spear' was much more powerful than Emperor Weide's impregnable armor.
'Mandate-Carrying Step'!
Emperor Weide felt the impact spread throughout his rib cage. Thanks to the armor, it didn't go too deep. If he had taken the hit directly, his heart might have literally exploded within his chest. At this very moment, he had no doubt that Ren Chao's armor had saved his life twice. First, the tip of the spear would have killed him. Then, the butt of the spear would have killed him. The demon in front of him couldn't be taken lightly. Thus, Emperor Weide moved out of the way. In an instant, he was in a blind spot of Cao Yun's vision. At the same time, Emperor Weide used some kind of stealth technique to hide his presence.
Unfortunately for Emperor Weide, Cao Yun's stealth was much better, and so he was also better at seeing past it. His spiritual senses immediately allowed him to perceive Emperor Weide's position.
Decided not to leave his enemy any room to breathe, Cao Yun didn't move his body. After his last attack, he was holding his spear with its spearhead facing backward. Thus, he simply stabbed backward instead of forward, aiming straight at Emperor Weide, who was somewhere behind him. It wasn't fast enough to actually hit Emperor Weide. But it forced him to move out of the way once more, sealing his next move.
From the ground, Jian Zhenli was now absolutely certain of himself. This young man was Cao Yun. However, he was now also certain that he was Chen Guo, too. Indeed, Jian Zhenli obviously knew the style of the young sect master of the Wubei Sect. That meant that Chen Guo had survived all those years since the attack on the capital. More than that, that meant that Cao Yun had survived his own attack and had grown much stronger than anyone could have predicted. That being said, Jian Zhenli had no idea how he could have cultivated the asura cultivation method.
One thing was also crystal clear in Jian Zhenli's mind. He was surrounded by traitors. Indeed, Chen Guo, or rather, Cao Yun, was Feng Yingyue's Dao companion. But Feng Yingyue was Director Hua's direct disciple. Moreover, Spirit Master Xiao had helped Cao Yun tremendously. There was no doubt about it. All the alchemists around him, or most of them, were traitors helping Cao Yun. Besides, Mei Hua, Ren Chao, and Sun Liao were also Cao Yun's sworn brothers. Considering their presence today, it was obvious that they had worked with Cao Yun. Most likely, the pill itself had been a trap, and Cao Yun had been forced to intervene because he had planned for Emperor Weide to swallow it, not his sister.
As he thought, suddenly it clicked. Jian Zhenli had even forgotten about Yong Ke. The young woman was in a trance. All her memories of her brother and her entire family had been absolutely erased, never to be recovered. And yet, she couldn't look away from Cao Yun in the air. His martial arts had awakened something in her. This fight had to stop as soon as possible.
Immediately, Jian Zhenli sent a telepathic message focused on Emperor Weide. As his spiritual senses entered the battlefield, Emperor Weide felt it and let the message pass through. On the other hand, Cao Yun was vaguely able to sense a disturbance but couldn't tell what it was or where it came from because it was simply too faint. After all, Emperor Weide's own spiritual senses were covering this part of the battlefield.
The Emperor's eyes bulged for a mere moment. Then, his voice finally echoed within the young man's mind.
"Cao Yun..."
Of course, Cao Yun knew that he could no longer keep his identity hidden. But, now, there truly wasn't any retreat. He had to slay the traitor, or he would turn against his friends and allies.
On the other hand, it completely changed Emperor Weide's attitude. He wasn't facing an assassin sent by Empyrean Asura. No, he was facing the consequences of his own actions. In his tone, the young man could discern a bit of sadness, but no guilt at all. Besides, Emperor Weide was now interested in capturing the young man alive. Indeed, he was a human who had cultivated the asura method. If somehow Emperor Weide could replicate that, he might soar even faster in his cultivation. After all, Cao Yun had soared like no man before.
The daughter of Cao Shui would give him the means to become a Sage, while her youngest son would offer him the secret of the asura cultivation. A completely new world was opening before Emperor Weide. With that, he would make the Hongchen Kingdom prosper like never before. A new golden age, a new Legendary Era, could open up for mankind, he had to take it.
"What happened to your family was a tragedy. But it will save the human race from the demons. You should feel honored to give your life for such a noble cause."
While Emperor Weide spoke with telepathic messages, Cao Yun's screams echoed throughout the battlefield.
"Traitor! Die!"
The two men had no time to really talk in the middle of their fight. Full of rage, Cao Yun stormed toward Emperor Weide. The air around him was dead and cold. Both his martial arts and his 'Death Verses' were turning the air colder and colder. Now that he knew everything, Emperor Weide completely changed his strategy. He had to take some risks in order to capture Cao Yun and find out his secrets.
On the ground, Director Hua and Spirit Master Xiao had seen through Jian Zhenli's face. They knew for a fact that he had found out the whole truth. Now, there truly was no coming back. If they lay low, they might be able to buy some leniency from the Emperor as he needed them. But would they humble themselves to beg and cower before that traitor? No!
That being said, they weren't stupid enough to confront Jian Zhenli right at this moment. His guard was now up. Moreover, Cao Huiying was still with them in the exposed room. And behind them were Mei Hua, Ren Chao, and Sun Liao. If they were to fight a powerful Spirit Warrior right here, it could end poorly for them. As such, they altered their stances a little but didn't act. For everyone around, nothing had changed, Jian Zhenli and the alchemists were all protecting Princess Yong Ke. But for them, everything had changed, they were all facing a deadly enemy and didn't dare to move first. They had to observe and wait for the right opportunity.
Finally, Emperor Weide unleashed his most powerful technique. The three seals flying around him suddenly collided and exploded right above his head. From his Upper Dantian, a powerful aura spread in an instant. It had the same aura as Emperor Nuwa herself, as if the first Emperor of the Hongchen Kingdom had come back. But for Cao Yun, there was another aura in it, a very familiar presence. Indeed, he recognized his own mother, Cao Shui.
'Domain of the Three Confluences'!
The three virtues had merged into a singular imperial presence. With the Everlasting Earth Palace down below, Emperor Weide's pseudo-Domain was at its strongest. The aura of Emperor Nuwa, still present within the capital, was making his pseudo-Domain even more powerful than it actually was. However, the young man could clearly feel what it really was. He had already felt it the very first time he had seen it.
A Domain was something only a Monarch could use, not even a Sage. In a way, it was a manifestation of one's sea of consciousness outside their own mind into reality. In order to achieve such a result, Emperor Weide had not manifested his own sea of consciousness. No, this pseudo-Domain's basis was Cao Yun's mother's sea of consciousness. Even in death, he was perverting her and, worse, using her against her own kin. Most likely, he had wanted to capture her alive in order to absorb her Soul Embryo, but she had died during the attack. As such, Jian Zhenli had saved her soul for Emperor Weide while he took Cao Huiying alive.
Now that Cao Yun's perception was better, he could also feel other things within this pseudo-Domain. This wasn't just his mother's sea of consciousness. Coalesced around her were several members of his own family and some familiar presences, most likely people from the Shui family. Emperor Weide was using their souls and minds in order to produce his pseudo-Domain. There actually was no way for a Spirit Warrior to produce a Domain, but he had found a way to imitate one by using his own victims.
Obviously, Cao Yun was absolutely enraged. This cost him a precious instant as he tried to fly away. It wouldn't have changed anything, though. A terrifying pressure came upon him, as if he was entering another, alien world. The next moment, he was within the pseudo-Domain. In an actual Domain, the cultivator who had unleashed it was the absolute ruler. The only way to beat a Domain was either to produce another Domain within and fight it, or to run in order to be outside the Domain. Once one was trapped inside a Domain, if they couldn't use one of their own, they were doomed. Thankfully, it wasn't an actual Domain. But for all intents and purposes, it was one to Cao Yun.
On the ground, Yong Ke also felt a familiar aura around the pseudo-Domain. For her, it seemed natural. After all, it was her father's sea of consciousness made manifest. But she was still doubtful about the demon. Somehow, she felt a connection with him, with the demon trying to murder her father. Something in the back of her mind was trying to remind her of some important memory she had forgotten. Try as she might, she couldn't remember, even though she felt like it was the most important and essential memory of her entire existence. It simply didn't want to come to her mind. Tears began to flow from her eyes without her understanding what was happening to her. Jian Zhenli knew, though.
In the sky, people could see a large portion of the world that was now a pure white cloud. Inside this white space, Cao Yun was floating before a palace. It was almost as big as the entire Hongchen Kingdom itself. For the observers outside the Domain, things were different as they could see the Domain and the real world at the same time. But within the Domain, Cao Yun could only see the Domain. Indeed, he was now in an infinite space, just as if he had entered his sea of consciousness. In a sense, it was the same thing.
This palace was made of ivory, jade, and gold. Apart from the memories of Cleansed Asura and Axiu Qian, Cao Yun had never seen such a magnificent and imposing palace. In front of it, Cao Yun was fighting just to stay standing. From the palace, a tyrannical and yet benevolent aura rose. The form of a giant jade emperor appeared and faced Cao Yun. He felt as though he was absolutely lacking all virtues in front of this august emperor.
Dian Mo was already analyzing the pseudo-Domain. There was absolutely no doubt, it was a form of array formation using seals to patch together pieces of souls and seas of consciousness. Honestly, it was too intricate for Dian Mo to find anything useful in a short amount of time. But he had no choice. Maybe he could find at least one weakness. With enough luck, it might be enough for Cao Yun to escape. He didn't need to fight the pseudo-Domain, he simply needed to escape from it.
Cao Yun's mind cultivation was fighting as much as it could, but the strength of even a pseudo-Domain was simply too much for him. His soul, his mind, and even his intent were all being attacked at the same time. The young man clung to the presence of his mother within to try to resist, but it was too hard. His asura cultivation was pushed back, as was his Qi cultivation. Slowly, his body went back to his actual human form.