The agreement to form an alliance hung in the air of the simple tent, a momentous decision that promised to reshape the future of the Central Plains Continent. Li Yu had just finished outlining the next steps for the Golden Shell Guild's leadership to meet, and a sense of cautious optimism had settled over the group. However, Cyra's expression remained thoughtful, a single loose end bothering her.
"Grand Elder Theron," she began, her tone respectful. "There is one more thing. During our initial conflicts in this land, we encountered a group called the Soaring Dragon Sect. They were allied with the princes, and by extension, the Hegemony. But we learned that many of their members, including their vice sect master, were unaware of the true nature of their allies. He was actively trying to save his disciples who had been kept in the dark, fighting against the very forces he was supposed to be allied with."
She paused, choosing her words carefully. "I know it is not our place to tell you how to conduct your purge, but not all of the sects who followed the princes were willing servants of the Abyss. Many were simply deceived."
Theron listened patiently, his ancient eyes showing a flicker of understanding but no hint of softness. His response was as unyielding as the mountain around them. "Elder Cyra, I appreciate your compassion. It is a noble quality. But the path of the Abyss is insidious. It taints all it touches. Ignorance is not a shield against corruption, nor is it an excuse for aiding those who would see this world burn."
His voice was not cruel, but it held the hard-earned, absolute conviction of a man who had fought this war for centuries. "They still allied themselves with a force that harvested tens of thousands of innocent lives. They stood on the wrong side of the line. That is a sin that cannot be washed away with a simple claim of ignorance."
He did, however, offer a path, not of forgiveness, but of redemption. "If these individuals you speak of, this vice sect master and his disciples, truly wish to atone, they will be given one chance. They will be allowed to join the branch of the Forest of the Radiant Dawn that we establish here. They will be put on the front lines, fighting against the very forces they once aided. They will pay for their mistakes with sweat and blood in the wars to come. Only through such atonement can their honor be restored. That is our way."
Cyra understood the harsh logic. It was a brutal form of mercy, but it was mercy nonetheless. She bowed her head slightly. "Of course. You must do what you think is best. It is not our place to tell you what to do."
With the last of their business concluded, Theron produced several small, intricately carved wooden tokens from his storage ring. "These are communication tokens, attuned to one another. They will allow us to keep in touch over great distances. A necessary tool for our new alliance." They exchanged the tokens, the simple act all but establishing the formal partnership between their two powerful organizations.
Shortly thereafter, the Forest of the Radiant Dawn began their sweep of the north. They moved with terrifying speed and efficiency, splitting into two distinct groups. One group was a pure battle force, a spear of righteous fury led by the now-recovering Lysander.
They moved from town to city, their arrival unannounced and their judgment swift. They eventually ran into the vice guild leader of the Soaring Dragon Sect and his group of survivors. Presented with Theron's terms—atonement through service—the vice guild leader agreed without hesitation.
It was a harsh fate, but it was better than extinction. His group was absorbed into the Radiant Dawn's forces, their knowledge of the landscape proving invaluable as they joined the purge, hunting down the firm believers of the Hegemony and absorbing the other disciples who had been similarly deceived.
The other group followed in their wake, a force of healers and logisticians, whose task was to return the thousands of freed prisoners to their homes. They moved across the scarred northern lands, bringing solace and a sliver of hope to the towns and villages that had been devastated by the Hegemony's harvest. The battle lines moved steadily west, a tide of green and gold cleansing the land as they pushed from the eastern border back towards the capital.
Seeing that their part in this phase of the conflict was over, Li Yu and Cyra took their leave. They would let the Forest of the Radiant Dawn do their business, trusting in the methods of the righteous warriors whose character they had seen in the last battle.
They flew south, a journey that felt far lighter than their tense, stealthy trip north. They had agreed to have Kui, Xylia, and Fengliu meet with the Radiant Dawn at their new headquarters in two months to finalize the details of the alliance. For now, their only goal was to regroup with Kui and Jian Xuan on the transport ship.
Along the way, they finally found a quiet, secluded place to rest and take stock of their gains. They sat in a hidden cave, a protective formation sealing the entrance, and Li Yu finally brought out the two massive storage rings they had acquired from Vorlag and Malek.
The sheer volume of loot was staggering. There were mountains of various grades of spirit stones, from low-grade to the rare, coveted high-grade. There were countless precious herbs, rare ores, refined pills, and powerful spiritual weapons and artifacts. It was the combined treasury of a major inter-continental operation.
But mixed in with the normal treasures were items that radiated a dark, unsettling energy. There were scrolls detailing demonic techniques, their pages seemingly bound in human skin. There were demonic pills, small, black orbs that pulsed with a chaotic, violent power.
And at the very bottom of Malek's ring, there was a collection of demonic cores, each one a condensed sphere of pulsating, red-green energy, the crystallized essence of a powerful demonic being.
Li Yu's curiosity was piqued. He carefully took out a single demonic core to examine it. It felt cold to the touch, and the red-green energy within swirled like a captive storm. As he focused his spiritual sense on it, something unexpected happened. A powerful, undeniable suction force erupted from within his body. His martial spirit had reacted.
Before he could even think to stop it, the martial spirit pulled. The demonic core in his hand instantly crumbled to dust, and a thick stream of pure, red-green energy was violently sucked into his body. It bypassed his normal meridians, flowing on a direct path straight towards his core, where his opalescent Ocean of Qi is. Li Yu was shocked, but he did not feel any pain or corruption. The energy entered his Ocean of Qi.
He watched with his internal senses, fascinated and wary. The red-green demonic qi did not mix with the vast, swirling sea of his own Koi Qi. Instead, it remained separate, a distinct and contained stream of power. It behaved exactly like the Void Qi and the Life Qi he had gained.
It would seem like they were another form of energy that his own unique cultivation could house but not yet integrate if ever. It swirled gently in a corner of his core, a contained and docile storm but with a menacing aura.
The discovery was monumental. It seemed his unique martial spirit could absorb and contain even the corrupting energy of demons. He didn't know what effects this new qi might have on him, so he decided not to absorb the rest of the cores for now.
The risk was too great. But the pills… the pills were a different matter. They were refined, their energy more stable. It was a smaller, more controlled experiment. He took out one of the demonic pills and, after a moment's hesitation, swallowed it.
A potent, chaotic energy exploded in his stomach, but just as before, his martial spirit took control. It drew the energy out, purified its most volatile aspects, and guided the resulting stream of red-green qi into his Ocean of Qi. The new energy joined the stream from the demonic core, increasing its size.
He felt a distinct, immediate increase in the overall power within his core. He would have to observe himself carefully for any bad effects before proceeding any further, but the initial results were promising, and terrifyingly tempting.