Honestly, Cao Yun could accept to turn a blind eye to the people who suffered all around the world. After all, he couldn't resolve every single injustice in the world, even when those were tremendous. Besides, even if he had the power to act in all cases, he might not know the best way to resolve them and he would end up creating more harm than good. There were many people who were absolutely certain that they were doing the right thing and ended up becoming tyrants. Deep down, Cao Yun was convinced that Emperor Weide thought himself on the righteous side. In fact, even Demon King Mo Wang had thought he was right, that his actions were a necessary evil of some sort.
All that being said, he couldn't simply forsake the people who were suffering right before his eyes. Not being able to save the entire world was no excuse to not act at all when it was happening in front of him. But then, he had all the same problems he had before. Thankfully, his problems were smaller. At the moment, he was simply thinking of what would be the best outcome for the victims he had just saved.
Saving them from one torment to let them suffer another one, probably even worse, wouldn't sit well with Cao Yun. At the same time, he couldn't take them with him. In Lan Duoyan's eyes, Cao Yun saw the same rage that had seized him after the slaughter of his family and the loss of his sister. But it was even worse in his case. The young man didn't know what future would await Lan Duoyan, what kind of man he would become if he survived.
Looking deep into himself, Cao Yun made a decision. No matter how much Lan Duoyan had suffered, Cao Yun couldn't give him too much help. First of all, he had other things to take care of. Thus, Cao Yun decided to do as Cleansed Asura had done to him. He would give Lan Duoyan the tools to fight for himself. However, he wasn't ready to give him too much either. His main concern was that Lan Duoyan would turn into a monster, just as Axiu Qian had. Although his rage was turned toward the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, it was also turned to those who had not acted, who had cowered away while his friends and family were tortured to death.
If Cao Yun didn't do a thing, Lan Duoyan would probably die anyway and it would solve that issue. But Cao Yun wouldn't accept that either. So he gave him some martial art manuals. Maybe Lan Duoyan would still end up being killed, but at the very least, he would have a fighting chance. Since he was too weak at the moment, Cao Yun chose the manuals that would help Lan Duoyan the most.
Since surviving was Lan Duoyan's main concern, Cao Yun began by giving him some stealth technique. Obviously it wasn't as good as his 'Ashen Feather Seal'. This was a technique Cao Yun had found in the Desolate Sepulcher, used by the Sisters of the Abyss, 'Crimson Within the Moon'. As it turned out, it was perfect for demons and extremely good at hiding one's bloodline. Demons relied much more on blood than Qi so it would probably help Lan Duoyan turn almost invisible to most Gold Children and a vast majority of the Golden Blood Children as well. Still, he had to reach a good enough proficiency at it first.
Instead of simply giving him the technique, Cao Yun literally sent it directly into his soul. As such, he also added his own pointers to it. This would help Lan Duoyan master it faster.
Cao Yun also did the same thing for a few martial art manuals. All of them were chosen specifically to allow the boy to survive even when all odds were against him. They stressed the importance of speed and of unpredictability. In fact, Cao Yun altered some of them to add techniques from his own 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath'. As Lan Duoyan was a demon, it would be very beneficial to him.
More than all that, Cao Yun gave him a watered down version of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'. With his current achievement in it, Cao Yun could easily alter it. No matter how much Cao Yun would like to help the kid in front of him, he would never give the entire version of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' to a demon he had just met. As such, he decided to focus on what worried him within the boy. His altered version put all the emphasis on taming one's wrath, the Flying Poison. But he also added parts of Yin Bird in it. After all, Yin Bird, which Cao Yun was cultivating right now, was all about one's agony. Obviously, Lan Duoyan would be good with it.
After all those gifts, Cao Yun also decided to protect himself. Within Lan Duoyan's sea of consciousness, he put several seals. If the boy tried to disclose anything related to Cao Yun, including the techniques he had just received, his mind and soul would simply be wiped clean. All of his memories would be engulfed but his soul would endure. Unfortunately, Cao Yun wasn't yet good enough to simply target specific memories, so all of Lan Duoyan's memories would be gone.
Besides that, Cao Yun had also made sure that if Lan Duoyan was completely possessed by his Turbid Demons, his seals would help him. But if Lan Duoyan lost himself and there was nothing to do, those seals would ultimately destroy the Turbid Demons along with the young boy. As long as Lan Duoyan didn't become a middle to late Accomplished Demons, he couldn't contend with those seals at all. They would be a great safeguard.
Hopefully, with all of that, Lan Duoyan could survive. Cao Yun also looked at the other survivors. Unfortunately, they were all too unstable and broken to gift them the same thing.
Raising up the still kowtowing Lan Duoyan, Cao Yun spoke to him in a very calm voice.
"Boy, I've accepted you as a temporary disciple. What you suffered through cannot be expressed with words. No matter how much hatred you have in you, you can't turn into a monster. As such, I have given you the means to save your own life. Whether you're able to grasp this chance or not will be up to you. I have many matters to attend to. Since your friends are still in such a terrible state, I will give you some things to help them. I will allow you to teach them some of my techniques as well, but only when they're ready."
From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took several materials as well as his cauldron and his furnace. With his current cultivation and understanding of alchemy, Cao Yun was clearly a 5-star Heaven alchemist. Besides, his 'Aureate Grove' was a great treasure as well. Using all of his knowledge, it didn't take long for Cao Yun to refine many pills of high quality. He even used the blood of the demons he had just killed in order to refine a few pellets. Once everything was ready, he gave them to Lan Duoyan.
"Those pills will help your friends recover. They will also come in handy if you ever get injured. But their main purpose will be to help you in your cultivation. Obviously, they're not miraculous, but they'll help you reach the Golden Blood Child realm in less than five years, so long as you cultivate diligently. You should have enough for yourself and your friends. Follow my instructions when you use them."
A thorough list of instructions appeared out of thin air before Lan Duoyan. The young boy didn't even know how to react to all of this. In his eyes, Cao Yun was some divine messenger. At first, he had thought of him as a vengeful spirit, but now he was a great benefactor.
Finally, Cao Yun carved a small array formation into a plate and gave it to Lan Duoyan. Since the young boy was barely a Blood Child, he wouldn't be able to use a spatial ring. Thus Cao Yun had used his knowledge as a de facto 5-star Heaven array formation master to create a kind of spatial pouch. In that spatial pouch, he had put in the resources the group would need to survive for a few months. Unfortunately, he couldn't put more in a single spatial pouch. Of course, he could still make more. But Cao Yun thought he had given them enough. He could always give more and stay longer with them, but at some point he had to move on. Honestly, it didn't feel good.
As much as Cao Yun didn't want to be seen as some kind of great hero and even savior, he couldn't disregard the pain right in front of him. It was especially true when it came to young girls and to this young boy who reminded him of himself. To be fair, Cao Yun had also benefited from this encounter. In a way he saw his gifts as him paying them back for what he had obtained even though those poor victims had nothing to do with it really. Right now, his asura cultivation was progressing along his 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'. Simply observing their torments through the eyes of those disgusting soldiers and being close to them had pushed Cao Yun's Yin Bird to advance faster.
Moreover, every single thing he had given Lan Duoyan were insignificant for him but incredibly important and precious to the young boy. Cleansed Asura had done it for Cao Yun and now Cao Yun had done it for this boy. In a sense, it was also a way to end his karmic bonds.
After he was done, Cao Yun instructed Lan Duoyan on his cultivation. At the moment, he was a very weak 1st-grade Blood Child. In the first realms, he would have to circulate his blood throughout his body, organs and bones. The pills Cao Yun had gifted him would help improve his blood. With an improved quality, it would be both easier to move and to feel it as well. Getting better sensations would obviously speed up one's cultivation. After that, demons had to send their blood deeper and deeper within their bones, directly into their marrow. Once again, Cao Yun's pills would improve the quality of both their bones and marrow, getting rid of many impurities and strengthening everything. If one couldn't break through to the Golden Blood Child realm in less than five years with both those pills and Cao Yun's pointers, they would never amount to anything anyway.
Still in disbelief, Lan Duoyan simply followed every instruction. For a very long time, he was convinced that he was in a dream. Maybe he was still hanged to the tree and was hallucinating all of that. Or maybe he was simply dead...
Anyway, the young boy did everything Cao Yun told him to do. He was almost in a trance. Ironically, because his mind was unable to comprehend the situation, it was much more calm. This allowed him to better circulate his blood and to get incredible sensations.
While Lan Duoyan was cultivating, Cao Yun did the same. His Turbid Demons had devoured all the fragments of the souls Cao Yun had shattered. For the moment, Cao Yun had only looked at their memories. Now, he decided to fully digest everything else. In his sea of consciousness, he manifested Axiu Qian's figure at the center of his Nine Soul Peaks. From him, golden chains appeared, connecting him to those Nine Soul Peaks. On five of those peaks, Cao Yun's Turbid Demons were visible. They were still partially trapped into the peaks though. And a sixth shadowy figure was barely visible on a sixth peak, it was obviously Yin Bird.
Many small silver fragments were flying all around them. Not a single one could escape the Nine Soul Peaks though. It was as if Axiu Qian was the Sun and those fragments were trapped by its attraction while the Turbid Demons were celestial bodies orbiting the Sun, like the Piaolu planet.
As Cao Yun was slowly digesting all of them, he was focused on his Soul Embryo. With each fragment absorbed by his Turbid Demons, he could feel both them and his Soul Embryo grow stronger. But that didn't mean anything about how long it would take for his Soul Embryo to wake up. On the other hand, it would clearly speed up the process of forming and taming his Yin Bird.
Something truly unexpected happened though. As Cao Yun was controlling the soul fragments, the Palace of Supreme Wisdom manifested itself. A few soul fragments were caught in it and disappeared in the palace of Dian Mo. This was the first time Cao Yun had any clue as to whether Dian Mo had survived or not. Unfortunately, even by focusing his mind and intent on the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, Cao Yun couldn't get anything more. In fact, it was possible that the one who had survived was Demon King Mo Wang. But it was also possible that neither of them had survived and this was just a reaction of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom itself. After all, the Drop of Wrath was no proof that Axiu Qian had survived, it was even proof of the opposite in fact...
While he was cautious of not getting his hopes high, this still improved Cao Yun's morale tremendously. This was a very good sing. That being said, he wouldn't go around devouring the souls of others, not even demons. Cao Yun would not become like the demonic cultivators he had fought. He would never regard others as mere resources. That didn't mean that he wouldn't use his enemies as resources either. If someone meant him or innocent people harm, Cao Yun had no qualm destroying them body and soul, or even turning them into raw materials for his own goals. He wasn't naive at all, especially after everything he had lived through and seen.
-
As the sun was rising in the sky, Lan Duoyan finally got out of his trance. When he woke up, he realized that Cao Yun had left. He might have thought everything had been a dream if only he had not all the resources left behind by this great master. Besides, the girls and the few survivors were free of their torment while the demons who had tortured them were gone forever.
Not knowing in which direction Cao Yun had gone, Lan Duoyan kowtowed to the sun and swore to always remember Cao Yun's words. He would get his revenge, but he would not turn into a monster either. For the time being though, Lan Duoyan swore that he would survive, no matter what. He would accept every humiliation just to survive one more day. And in the end, he would get his revenge!