Cao Yun took his time to be perfectly ready. For a few days he observed his silver Soul Embryo as his Five Aspects were working on it. It was very faint but he could feel a deeper connection with it. Honestly he even wondered whether he was just imagining it because he wanted results. But at the very least, he was certain that his cultivation was indeed working. For an average cultivator during the Forsaken Dao Era, the 5th-grade Spirit Warrior stage could take anywhere between fifteen to fifty years. In fact, some never even succeeded in breaking through because of mental blockages. In the worst case scenario, one could literally birth an inner demon. But this was almost impossible for Cao Yun with his mind and soul cultivation. Besides, inner demons were birthed from the Po and Cao Yun had almost completely tamed it, only the Devouring Robber remained.
After submitting all the Po to his will, Cao Yun would still have to merge them into a true Demon Soul. As it turned out, it was both the goal of the 8th-grade Accomplished Demon stage and the fourth layer of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks', 'Seal the Seven Demons'. In other words, the mind cultivation of the Weaver of Souls would help him reach this stage faster once more. Besides, his Drop of Wrath was more or less a Demon Soul itself. Thus it would be even faster.
Thinking about that, Cao Yun had many ideas. Cultivating both systems at the same time had given him twice the results for half the effort. In fact, it was even more than that thanks to the advantage of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' and the Drop of Wrath. So obviously, Cao Yun was thinking about fusing his Demon Soul and his Soul Embryo. But he had to forge his Demon Soul already. Thankfully his Devouring Robber was growing at a steady pace. In fact, Cao Yun might have formed it in less than a year, or maybe even before reaching the Hongchen Kingdom.
As much as he wanted to put his efforts on his Soul Embryo, Cao Yun decided against it. He still put some intent on it, but he essentially focused on his Devouring Robber. By forming his Demon Soul, he was convinced that his Soul Embryo would develop even faster. Instead of working harder, Cao Yun worked smarter. Hopefully it would pay off. Indeed, he really couldn't expose his asura cultivation in the Hongchen Kingdom. But he could still use it to improve his human cultivation. Besides, his asura cultivation also improved his body a little with each stage. Although he wasn't directly working on his blood, it still had an impact. And it was also strengthening both his will and his soul. There were minimal downsides to his decision.
At the same time, Hongyu was also getting used to her new form. As a 7-core Heaven-Searing Fenghuang, Hongyu was now as strong as an early Accomplished Demon or Spirit Warrior. But she was much faster which would give her an advantage. Besides, she could also somewhat control Evil Qi with her Evil Core and Wrath Core. So she would probably be able to kill a weaker middle Accomplished Demon or Spirit Warrior. However, this new body was a bit strange and her proportions had changed a little so she had to get used to it.
Moreover, Hongyu could still feel the medicinal essence of the Tyrant Bloodfire Heart pill in her. It was slowly being diffused in her body. With each breath she took, she could feel it spread in her tissues and slowly forming her eighth core. But alone, it wouldn't be enough. This was a great basis but she needed the raw materials to build this eighth core.
Soon she would have the opportunity to get said materials as Cao Yun was ready to raid the Temple of Grace and Submission.
"Dian Mo, I'll need your help there. Although I'm confident in my array formations, you're still better than I am. Besides, those seals I've encountered are extremely complex. Even with my meager understanding of the Dao of Death, they're a bit too much for me. And I imagine that the Temple of Grace and Submission has even more complex seals and array formations."
"Boy, don't forget. If they're the ones who produced those abominable corpses, they could have more of them."
"I know. But I will be ready for them now. I refuse to accept that anyone below the Sage or Exalted Demon realm has a better understanding of the Dao of Death... Besides, I have my Black Heart Flame and the Drop of Wrath. In fact, I hope they have great reserves of Death Energy and Ghost Energy, I could use some of that to feed my Devouring Robber. I already use my own resentment and envy. By focusing on Traitor Weide, I have both of those in spades. But the process could be faster with external resources."
"Just don't be the snake swallowing the elephant, is all I'm saying."
"I know. With Hongyu and my stealth, I am confident that I could escape. Unless the Empyrean Asura comes in person, I don't think I should fear much. But I won't be complacent either. I'll make the necessary arrangements, just in case."
After saying those words, Cao Yun took out various artifacts including his 'Aureate Groove'. For a few more days, he refined several pills and engraved some array formation plates. Dian Mo even helped him in this endeavor. Finally, they went back to talking about array formations, debating and even arguing violently on the best ways. Slowly, their conversations moved toward the theoretical aspect of the array formations. Cao Yun and Dian Mo could quote from many works of various experts. The two of them lost themselves in those debates. And even though they argued and even used violent words, they enjoyed it thoroughly.
In the end, Cao Yun was prepared enough. Putting Hongyu in danger again felt bad, but she was more than eager to accompany him and he couldn't dissuade her. Moreover, he had put himself in danger for her too so there was nothing he could do or say to stop her from coming with him.
Before going to the Temple of Grace and Submission, Cao Yun asked Hongyu to spread her demonic beasts all over the Yanbei Region. They even went toward the Langyin Region but never left the Yanbei Region. However, their movement put more and more pressure on other regions. Cao Yun's goal was simple, he wanted the Empyrean Asura Theocracy to focus their efforts on the demonic beasts and not on the innocent demons and the rebels among whom Lan Duoyan was. Maybe it wouldn't help too much, but Cao Yun wanted to spare as many people as he could, even if they were demons. After all, there wasn't that much of a difference between humans and demons. The real threat was the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Even among humans, Emperor Weide was a threat, but Cao Yun wouldn't agree to eradicate all humans just to kill him.
Of course, the demonic beasts would suffer from Cao Yun's decisions. But honestly, he cared little about them as they were man-eaters. That being said, he did ask Hongyu to only send the strongest beats and the oldest ones as well. The young demonic beasts or the weaker ones would stay in safer areas of the Yanbei Region. Moreover, this small army of demonic beasts would conquer more demonic beasts to add to their forces. Cao Yun gave Hongyu several pills she could give to the loyal demonic beasts so their cultivation would increase rapidly. Among those, she chose the Blood Dirt Viper who had proved its loyalty in the previous battle.
Once everything was taken care of, Cao Yun went directly for the Temple of Grace and Submission along with Hongyu.
-
Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was bathing in a pool of fresh blood when a younger man entered her private chambers. Unlike the priests his skin wasn't very red, but it was dark indeed. This young man was rather massive but with a very childish face. He couldn't be more than sixteen or seventeen. Clearly he was no priest or monk. This young man was a mere servant and his clothes were plain in order to show his status to everyone. In fact, Cao Yun would have immediately recognized this young man, he was a slave from the nomadic tribes of the Desolate Sepulcher. And deep within his sea of consciousness, he had City Lord Sihe's Slavery Brand.
The old woman who still looked like she was in her twenties looked at him with indifference. It was as though the young man was not even there. After looking at him for a mere instant, Ling Weisheng went back to focusing on her relaxation. Her entire body was immersed in the crimson pool. A thick odor of blood engulfed the entire room. Although the young servant spoke, Ling Weisheng barely paid any attention to him.
"High Mistress, pardon this unworthy one. General Meng Tian is dead. We've lost all contact with the Temple of the Lesser Blood King. Most likely..."
"It's been destroyed and everyone killed. Yes, most likely. It seems like General Meng Tian's enemy was much more resilient than I thought. All our defenses should be increased. Although it's suicidal, I do have the feeling like this enemy is coming for us now. What truly concerns me is the fate of the Supplicant Tyrants. What news do you have?"
"Unfortunately, the scouts who were sent have not yet been able to tell us anything. It should take a week or so for them to give us their reports."
"But we can assume that the Supplicant Tyrants were all killed... Go fetch me Yu Xiangling. I need her expertise. We'll prepare for war. Whoever is mocking us must pay. If they think we're so easily bullied, they'll be surprised."
"Should we inform the Empyrean Asura?"
"Don't think boy, it's not for you. High Priest Empyrean Asura is busy with more important matters, he's still in congress with our Heavenly Demon God. Unless Emperor Weide attacks in person, we should not disturb him at all. Just relay my orders. And then wait. When I'm done with Yu Xiangling, come back in my chambers."
As she played with the blood surrounding her, a mischievous smile lit up her face. Then, she looked toward the young servant.
"I'm bored... so I'll play with you."
For the young man, he felt as though a predator was eyeing him as his prey. And he wasn't wrong at all, unfortunately. The poor servant shook a little despite his efforts to hide his fear.
"Don't worry, you'll survive... if you can keep up..."
-
Even with his stealth Cao Yun was very cautious. With Hongyu, they quickly reached Holy Hongxue City. As soon as they were able to see it, they stopped. They then circled the entire city so Cao Yun and Dian Mo could study it. In his mind, Cao Yun had made many Bamboo Maps of the entire area. In fact, he had Bamboo Maps of the entire Yanbei Region. He had taken many factors into account when he had engraved his array formation plates. And he was glad that they were indeed perfectly suited for this place.
Once Cao Yun and Dian Mo were confident that there was no hidden array formations, they literally built one of their own all around Holy Hongxue City. It wasn't complete because they didn't want to arise suspicions, but it could help them tremendously. Even from the outskirts of Holy Hongxue City, Cao Yun could see the Temple of Grace and Submission. After all, it literally was a small mountain that had been carved into a temple. The architecture was very peculiar. Looking at it, Dian Mo was shocked.
"Boy, this temple reminds me of my former master. There is something in the architecture that's... I don't know how to say it. But it's almost as if he drew some of it himself, but not everything. I wouldn't know how to express it any better..."
"I understand. This temple is indeed very strange. I've never seen anything like it, not even in Cleansed Asura's memories. But it exudes the aura of death. It's as if it's meant to gather ominous energies within. I already want to destroy it just after watching it for an instant."
Cao Yun saw many pilgrims walking into Holy Hongxue City. With little effort, he killed a few pilgrims who were still far away from the city. Honestly, Cao Yun wondered about sparing them, but he couldn't let them warn anyone. Besides, he could feel that they were far from being innocents. There was a strong killing intent all around them. After looking through their memories, it was extremely easy for Cao Yun to imitate them. And sure enough, like most pilgrims here, they had slaughtered many heretics to earn the honor of getting close to the Temple of Grace and Submission.
Altering his blood aura as much as he could, the young man tried to pass as one of the pilgrims. With the memories of those he had killed, there was almost no problem at all. He knew exactly how to greet other pilgrims. He also knew what events had happened recently and who most of the pilgrims around him were. Still, he used some of his stealth technique, not to erase his presence completely, but to make it so people would barely notice him.
Hongyu was waiting outside of Holy Hongxue City but she didn't like it at all. However, she couldn't enter the city with his brother. Thus, Cao Yun asked her to stay alert for his signal. At a moment's notice, she was ready to barge in the city and unleash her fury and flames.
The young man explored the city while staying inconspicuous. Along with Dian Mo, he sowed the seed of his plan. It didn't take him more than two days to be satisfied with all his preparation. Then, he fully turned his attention toward the engraved mountain. With the statues of full-blooded demons all over it, there was something quite disturbing. It felt as if Cao Yun was in one of Axiu Qian's memories and usually they didn't have any happy ending.