The next moment Lan Duoyan opened his eyes, he was above the village on Hongyu's back. The young boy had not even felt a single thing. To be fair, he had been shocked senseless by what had just happened. When he had confronted Zhang Fenyi's band, Lan Duoyan was absolutely certain he was going to die. Although he was confident in his ability to run away thanks to his stealth technique, he had prepared himself for the worst. And as soon as he felt Zhang Fenyi's true strength, he had lost all hope of surviving. But he still had hopes that some of the villagers would use this opportunity to escape.
Obviously, Lan Duoyan had never flown before. As soon as he saw the village from above, he was both terrified and excited at the same time. Since he knew that this was all of Cao Yun's doing, he didn't fear for his life. But, honestly, being up in the air did scare him. Besides, he was extremely high in the air. However, Hongyu's feathers felt very nice and he could literally fall asleep on her back.
Cao Yun gave Lan Duoyan a few instants to recover but also to enjoy the sight. Indeed, Cao Yun remembered how it had felt the very first time he had flown. The sensation was something else and he didn't spoil Lan Duoyan's fun, despite the circumstances.
Finally, Cao Yun appeared before Lan Duoyan. Of course, he had been there from the start but his stealth technique had made him imperceptible. Although he was right in front of the young boy, Lan Duoyan's mind simply couldn't perceive his existence. In that time, Cao Yun had carefully observed Lan Duoyan's body and cultivation. Clearly, the young boy had been very thorough and diligent in his training. He had taken all of Cao Yun's pills and had performed the cultivation method by following all of his instructions and pointers.
Honestly, Cao Yun was very impressed by that boy. The reason why he had gifted him this cultivation method and those fills was really circumstantial. Cao Yun had sympathized with Lan Duoyan's situation because of his own past. Although he had thought about what his future could hold, Cao Yun hadn't thought he would grow so much in so little time. Besides, he felt that they were connected by some strange karmic bond. After all, he had saved him once more after meeting him by pure accident. Of course, Cao Yun had not left the Yanbei region, but the chances of meeting Lan Duoyan again were slim. And yet, here they were.
"Boy, you've truly cultivated well. Sincerely, I didn't think you would grow so much. Besides, it seems like you've listened to me. I had feared that you would become full of hatred and resentment. Honestly, I thought that there was a chance you would start to slaughter small villages as a form of retaliation. That is why I offered some pointers and even gave you a good mind cultivation."
"I..."
In Lan Duoyan's eyes and voice, Cao Yun saw something. But he didn't say anything, he waited for the young boy to talk first.
Lan Duoyan kowtowed on Hongyu's back.
"Master, this stupid disciple is unworthy. This detestable disciple did try to exert revenge on the village that betrayed me and my companions. I could have slaughtered them all with my bare hands. In fact, I was ready to kill even the children and the elderly. They had taken everything from me and I wanted to destroy them all, to make them taste the same despair I had felt. This wasn't just a fantasy. I did go there with that specific goal in mind. I even abandoned my other companions in order to exert my revenge.
"When I saw them all living as if nothing had happened, I was ready to slaughter. My rage took over my body and I became a monster. I did kill a few people. But then, I saw the terror in the eyes of the children. I saw old men and women protecting their youth. They begged me to stop. And I saw the same look I had seen in my brothers and sisters when they were being slaughtered. In the end, I stopped myself and left. But I did kill a few people in my village. And I would have fallen into depravity without master's teachings."
Cao Yun didn't respond for some time. Honestly, he didn't care much about a small village of demons who had denounced their own neighbors so they could be tortured to death. That being said, slaughtering innocent people wasn't something Cao Yun would ever condone. Thankfully, Lan Duoyan had stopped himself before killing children. But Cao Yun could still get that he had indeed killed a few innocent people. Lan Duoyan had not discriminated between those who had spoken against his people and those who had simply stayed silent.
Of course, Cao Yun could understand Lan Duoyan's rage. But he was indeed a bit disappointed. However, he didn't judge his disciple. Cao Yun himself had probably caused the death of many innocent people, albeit indirectly. Indeed, in the Yanbei region alone, the unrest he had caused had created many bands of bandits. Of course, Cao Yun had done so in order to eventually destroy the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. In his mind, it would go more good than bad. But he was painfully aware of the bad that would create in the meantime.
As much as he would like to claim the opposite, Cao Yun had innocent blood on his hands. As such, he wouldn't judge Lan Duoyan who had realized his errors and had even just risked his life to save strangers. Moreover, this made Lan Duoyan a better disciple. From now on, Cao Yun wasn't afraid that Lan Duoyan would lose himself to his rage. That was behind him.
"Boy, what happened to the survivors who were with you?"
"They decided to leave for the Langyin region. Hopefully they'll have a better chance there. But I didn't want to go with them because I didn't want to live in peace. And, even now... I don't want peace. But I want the ones who are truly responsible to pay. The Empyrean Asura must die and all his priests must be purged!"
Cao Yun knew about the Langyin region, it was the Silver Wolf Marshal's region. In all the Empyrean Asura, it was the region with the fewer priests. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan had been able to preserve his fief by accepting to join the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. It had spared his people war and religious persecutions. But even in the Langyin region, having different faiths was something to hide. The real difference was that no zealous priests would roam through the region to find heretics. It really wasn't perfect, but it might help Lan Duoyan's companions live in peace as long as they hid.
"Boy, I do intend to take down the Empyrean Asura Theocracy."
Lan Duoyan's eyes bulged as he heard those words. When he spoke, Lan Duoyan didn't believe his own words. But hearing such a powerful cultivator say those things, Lan Duoyan did believe them. For the first time, he imagined a land free from the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. After all, Lan Duoyan had been born while the Yanbei region was already invaded and occupied. Not once in his life had he known a land free of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy.
"Unfortunately, I can't take you with me. You're still too weak. And if you keep trying to fight opponents too strong for you, you won't live old enough to see a future without your enemies. Boy, focus on your cultivation. Become someone your land can count upon and get ready for the time when the tyrants are dead."
Cao Yun gave Lan Duoyan a few other pills. And he even engraved a few array formations on some plates.
"If you're in terrible danger, spill a drop of blood on those plates. Each one is a life saving treasure."
After giving Lan Duoyan the plates, Cao Yun sent all the information he needed directly into his mind. Along with Hongyu, they brought Lan Duoyan to another village. On the way there, Cao Yun gave a few other pointers to Lan Duoyan while observing his cultivation and his martial arts. Although his cultivation was good, Lan Duoyan wasn't that interested in martial arts in themselves. Unlike Cao Yun, he only really cared about how they could be used in practice. Cao Yun was much more interested in the art itself even though he obviously cared about their practicability as well. To Lan Duoyan, they were just a means to an end but he was very diligent nonetheless.
Lan Duoyan tried to plead with his master to let him come with him. Although Lan Duoyan and Cao Yun were technically master and disciple since Cao Yun had taught him and was still teaching him, he was akin to an outer disciple. In the Wubei Sect, there were outer disciples and inner disciples. Even among those two categories, one could draw some distinctions within. To put things simply, outer disciples would leave the sect one day. Although they would feel connected to it, they wouldn't be inner disciples spending their entire life with the sect.
Right now, Lan Duoyan and Cao Yun weren't very close. As much as Lan Duoyan wanted to stay with Cao Yun, the young man had dangerous matters to attend to. Besides, he had taught this Lan Duoyan because he had seen himself in him. But he still wasn't sure about taking him as an inner disciple yet. Indeed, not only wasn't he entirely sure of Lan Duoyan's character, he was also a human. Cao Yun would not stay in the demon territory for more than a few months and he simply couldn't take a demon along with him in the Hongchen Kingdom.
Anyway, Cao Yun left Lan Duoyan in another small village and went directly for a temple of the Heavenly Demon God Faith. It was the largest temple after the Temple of Grace and Submission. However, it was much smaller compared with this one.
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The temple's architecture was very familiar to Cao Yun. It clearly looked like human architecture with hints of what he had seen in the Desolate Sepulcher. Even if Cao Yun had not seen the Temple of Grace and Submission himself, he had seen it in memories he had absorbed. And this temple Cao Yun was targeting was very different. Most efforts had been on the Temple of Grace and Submission. This other temple was in fact a temple of the Sutraists. Lan Duoyan's family and friends were among them. Just like in the Hongchen Kingdom, they were those who believed in the Wheel Sutra of Buddha Cangjing.
When the Empyrean Asura Theocracy took over, they destroyed some temples and statues, but also repurposed some of them. Instead of building completely new temples, they sometimes took existing temples, destroyed a few statues, burned down some documents and scriptures, and then made it into a temple of the Heavenly Demon God Faith.
This small temple was known as the Temple of the Lesser Blood King. Apparently the Lesser Blood King was some kind of mythical figure who assisted Demon God Da Mo. According to their legends, he was a demon who had purged his own blood of all human impurity. He had put boiling lava in his own veins to burn away the weakness of mankind. Obviously, it was extremely difficult to know whether that legend was true or not, but Cao Yun was convinced it was made-up completely. Several details didn't add up and it went against everything he knew about cultivation. But some demons did try to pour lava in their veins. Without much surprise, this either killed them or injured them severely without doing anything for their bloodline. Thus, priests invented that the story was merely allegorical, it wasn't literal lava but some magical substance from Demon God Da Mo.
Cao Yun didn't care much about theology, but he was interested in what that substance was. Deep down, he had his suspicions but he wanted to make sure. Maybe those priests were similar to the Sisters of the Abyss who had kept the blood of the Weaver of Souls. If that was the case, Cao Yun wanted to know for sure and to get some of that substance. Most likely, it was behind the familiarity he had felt. And this might even help Dian Mo...
With Hongyu, Cao Yun was circulating his 'Ashen Feather Seal' to the utmost. Since the Sisters of the Abyss had been able to sense his blood, Cao Yun was even more cautious than usual. And he observed the Temple of the Lesser Blood King for several days. By then, he had a thorough understanding of the place. Thankfully, the priests had a very routine life. Cao Yun could predict almost all of their movements.
They were practicing the 'Burning Wheel of Expiation' cultivation method. All the techniques within were quite frightening as they all inflicted untold pain and torment on the practitioners. Looking at the techniques, Cao Yun could tell that they were indeed efficient but they didn't need to be as painful. However, pain was seen as a good thing by the Heavenly Demon God Faith, it was a form of punishment for being born with human blood in their veins. For example, one technique was simply a punching routine to send the blood along a very specific path. But the technique was performed with some kind of vest covered in spikes. Each movement would pierce the skin and draw blood.
Although the injuries were superficial, the pikes were covered in substances that would promote blood loss and cause more pain. The practitioners would lose a small amount of blood. It was nothing dangerous or detrimental, but it was believed to get rid of their human blood. In the fact, the substance on the pikes would darken the blood, giving off the impression that this was indeed impure blood.
Many other techniques were similar. Cao Yun didn't learn anything by simply observing the temple and the priests within. As much as he tried to find something hidden, there was nothing. After all, this Temple of the Lesser Blood King was small and probably didn't hold all the secrets of the Temple of Grace and Submission. So Cao Yun had no reason to wait any longer.