Cao Yun had slaughtered many demons on his own. By adding the ones killed by the demonic beasts he had unleashed, chaos was spreading in the entire Yanbei region. However, the Empyrean Asura Theocracy had not reacted yet. Yes, General Meng Tian had tried to change the locations of the camps and he had sent his officers to kill the threat. But apart from that, there had been no reinforcement from other regions.
Indeed, most of the demons were already fighting on the front lines. The Empyrean Asura Theocracy would not diminish their war effort. Moreover, each region had problems. And apparently, even the chaos caused by Cao Yun wasn't as serious as the civil unrest everywhere else in the demon territory.
Seeing almost no reaction to his raids, Cao Yun could imagine how precarious the situation of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was. And yet, they kept on pressing forward with their war. Even their fanaticism didn't explain it. The young man felt as though he was missing something. Maybe it was because he had not targeted the priests directly. They didn't care much about the military. But that was too short-sighted. Surely, there was something else.
Another explanation was simply that Empyrean Asura was secluded in the Saint Citadel Sidi. From what Cao Yun had gathered, it had been months since anyone else had seen him, apart from high priests. In fact, many high priests had also been in seclusion with him. But unlike Empyrean Asura, they relayed themselves in order to keep the theocracy working properly.
No matter the reason, Cao Yun was quite pleased with the results of his raids. He had even improved his operation by setting up several array formations all over the place. The locations he had chosen came from the intel he had obtained. Cao Yun had chosen important locations for the military and the theocracy as a whole.
Many demons had fallen in his traps. In the main continent, the demons were more knowledgeable about both array formations and poison than those in the Desolate Sepulcher. Nonetheless, Cao Yun's knowledge exceeded theirs. As such, many ended up dead in his traps.
As the army was being defeated, the legend of a vengeful spirit targeting those who followed a false god began to spread. There were other versions of that legend that were very different. Anyway, the end result was the same, distrust was growing. And along this distrust, more and more demons deserted the army. Unfortunately, this had negative consequences on the civilians. Indeed, there were groups of bandits almost everywhere.
Honestly, Cao Yun did feel responsible a little. But there was no other way. Unfortunately, war would always make the civilians suffer for no reason. Thankfully, the legend of a vengeful spirit prevented the bandits from going completely overboard. Ironically, they were less scary and dangerous than the soldiers. Compared with the priests calling for the horrendous death of all heretics, those bandits were absolute saints.
-
Cao Yun had sent Hongyu deal with other camps and small settlements with her demonic beast companions. While she was doing so, Cao Yun disguised himself as a frail old man and went in a small town. Although there was fear in everyone's eyes, they welcomed him and even offered to give him some food. Cao Yun refused and paid for his food and his lodging. For several days, he observed the village.
The demons had a tough life as they were forced to ration what few resources they had. And yet, they had agreed to spare some for Cao Yun.
As he was in the city, Cao Yun planned his next moves. He wanted to assault the capital Bibei. But before that, he was still seeking more information about the priests and the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Even in the capital, Cao Yun wasn't convinced he would find anything useful. On the other hand, he might find more useful information in Holy Hongxue City.
In fact, for days now, Cao Yun had made sure to leave a trail toward Bibei. Indeed, he knew that someone would realize some of the camps were completely decimated while others were targeted by mere demonic beasts. Thus, Cao Yun decided to use that to his advantage. He voluntarily made it easier to track his movements. Of course, those movements were fake. Yes, he did attack those specific camps. But he wasn't going straight for the capital. Besides, he made sure to hide his true speed.
Someone who would only observe those movements would think that Cao Yun was half as fast as he actually was. In fact, it was his speed that allowed him to plan like that and to create this fake trail.
What Cao Yun couldn't know for sure was that his plan had worked perfectly. General Meng Tian was already preparing traps for Cao Yun in Bibei. In fact, it worked better than Cao Yun could have imagined since General Meng Tian was even impacting the security of Holy Hongxue City by asking their help with his own plans.
Because Cao Yun wasn't aware of that, he was a bit hesitant. Attacking the religious capital of the entire Northern region might be a problem. Besides, he had been scared by the seals found in priestess Yao Baiyi. Moreover, this Holy Hongxue City had the Temple of Grace and Submission. This was one of the largest temples in the entire continent. Obviously, it would be well guarded. On the other hand, this might give Cao Yun what he wanted.
Attacking the Temple of Grace and Submission would most likely bring the Asura Empyrean Theocracy to do what he wanted, sending reinforcement from the front lines. However, the young man still hesitated a lot.
Another alternative would be to attack a lesser temple first. From there, he would get some information and maybe could make a decision on his future plans. The problem was that it could reveal his next move and the demons would increase the security around Holy Hongxue City. But then again, this would create a conundrum for them. Should they defend Holy Hongxue City or Bibei? Either they would focus their forces on the wrong target or they would spread them too thin between the two of them. All things considered, this might in fact be a good idea...
-
A few days after Cao Yun's arrival in the small village, some disturbance occurred. A large man with a group of four former soldiers arrive in the village. Immediately, he used his cultivation to yell so that everyone would hear him.
"I am Zhang Fenyi. Give us enough food and water for a month for me and my brothers. Also, show us your most beautiful girls. Obey and we won't burn your pathetic village to the ground."
In Zhang Fenyi's voice, Cao Yun could detect his cultivation. This man who was putting on big airs was only a 5th-grade Blood Child. In front of Cao Yun, he was just a monkey putting up a stupid show. Cao Yun could kill him and his so-called brothers in an instant without even moving. As a matter of fact, Cao Yun was ready to do so when he noticed someone he recognized immediately.
Strangely Cao Yun had not seen him until then. Before Cao Yun had arrived, a young boy had been taken in by this small village. He had stayed with them for weeks now. Apparently he had stayed in seclusion to cultivate. Cao Yun was impressed as soon as he saw him. This young boy was Lan Duoyan.
Lan Duoyan was a 3rd-grad Blood Child, ready to break through at any moment. Although his cultivation wasn't impressive by itself, what truly surprised Cao Yun was how far he had progressed in so little time. Clearly, he had worked as hard as he could. Cao Yun was quite pleased with this boy. Besides, he had lived in peace in a small village. Hopefully he had taken Cao Yun's words seriously.
Lan Duoyan was wearing very humble clothes. In his hands, he was holding a longsword. Once again, there was nothing impressive about it. And yet, there was a strong aura around the boy. He was channeling his rage throughout his blood and this improved his killing intent. The modified cultivation Cao Yun had given him had been very useful.
When Zhang Fenyi and his men saw the young boy they burst out laughing.
"We asked for girls, boy. You're not our type! But if you have a big sister..."
"Or a little sister..."
"Ha ha ha...!"
"We'll even take a young mother. You still have milk on your face, I'm sure your mother's breast must be firm and enjoyable. Let's have some fun with her. She should be able to take all five of..."
Before the obscene man could finish his sentence, Lan Duoyan charged forward. Using the distraction of their laughter, he surprised them. In an instant he was before this man. Lan Duoyan's longsword fell from above.
Cao Yun saw a hint of 'Crimson Within the Moon' in Lan Duoyan's movements. It wasn't extremely good, but good enough to help in his surprise attack. Besides, Lan Duoyan had targeted the weakest of the group first. Since he had almost no chance against Zhang Fenyi, Lan Duoyan was simply trying to reduce the number of his opponents. It wasn't a bad strategy. If he could use his stealth and his speed, he might be able to escape after killing one or two men. After that, they would probably follow him instead of attacking the village.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun could see that Lan Duoyan's plan would fail. The difference between him and those bandits was just too high. Yes he would maybe kill one or two of them if he was very lucky, but he would be killed before he could escape anywhere.
Still, Cao Yun observed the fight.
Lan Duoyan's longsword fell directly onto the right side of the man's throat. It sliced through his flesh until it reached his heart. As he was laughing, the man threw up a lot of blood with disgusting sounds. Before he even realized what had happened, Lan Duoyan was already moving. He simply left his longsword in the man's heart.
In fact, Lan Duoyan stabbed in further and ran forward. The tip of his longsword stabbed another man behind the first one. Since the surprise was gone, this man didn't get stabbed so easily. He blocked the attack with a saber, but his own comrade was blocking his movement.
Without any hesitation, Lan Duoyan let go of his longsword. He sent a kick into the head of the man he had just killed. Under the shock, the head flew away and burst open when it collided with Zhang Fenyi's own head. Immediately Cao Yun recognized a move from his own 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath'. It was good considering Lan Duoyan's level, but it really was inexperienced and full of mistakes. Honestly, it was even a bit comedic for Cao Yun.
Suddenly, Zhang Fenyi's blood erupted. He circulated his entire cultivation and was ready to crush Lan Duoyan. Zhang Fenyi didn't even take out a weapon. He simply struck Lan Duoyan with a palm. In the air, the Qi within his blood formed a terrifying shape. 'Ancient Ghost's Decimation'. A spectral palm appeared with rotten flesh and bloodied claws.
Cao Yun himself was a bit surprised. This Zhang Fenyi was better than he had thought. However, Lan Duoyan was much more cunning and prepared. He took his longsword back and kicked his first victim's legs. Using them as leverage, he shifted the body so it would be between him and Zhang Fenyi's palm.
The body exploded and freed Lan Duoyan's sword. The young boy was also thrown backward as part of the shock penetrated his very bones. Using the momentum and the shock, Lan Duoyan turned his longsword toward another man of the group. He tried to behead him but the bandit dodged. Still, the longsword slashed his face and cost him an eye.
Lan Duoyan was putting up a very good fight, but it was over. Thankfully Lan Duoyan had also realized that so he immediately abandoned the fight and began to run away. He used all of his 'Crimson Within the Moon' in order to hide his presence as much as possible. Cao Yun applauded his decision. This young boy was very good at reading the flow of the fight.
Unfortunately, Lan Duoyan had seriously miscalculated. Zhang Fenyi's 'Ancient Ghost's Decimation' struck again. Fueled by anger, he tore through the body of his comrade without any hesitation. Finally, his palm struck Lan Duoyan.
Zhang Fenyi was certain that the young boy would simply burst open. But he endured the attack. Many villagers were looking for afar, too afraid to help. Seeing the young boy fight like a devil, more and more villagers were leaving their houses with various tools and weapons.
"Boy, I'll tear off your bones one by one!"
Lan Duoyan was immobile on the ground with blood gushing out of his body. But he was still alive. Even he was surprised until he heard a voice in his head.
"Boy, you've grown quite a bit since last we've met. But you would have died without achieving anything today. Your tactic wasn't too bad, but you're simply too weak even against such an opponent..."
Just after Lan Duoyan heard this voice, he understood. The man who had saved his life once had saved him once more. Without his intervention, Lan Duoyan would have been killed by Zhang Fenyi's palm.
"Stop!"
"Leave him alone!"
Although one could hear fear in their voices, several villagers were now actively threatening Zhang Fenyi. As much as Cao Yun appreciated their courage, they had no chance at all. Thus, he decided to end it. He had protected Lan Duoyan with his own Wei Qi. The boy's wound was only superficial.
Zhang Fenyi's face froze. All of his men stopped moving. The villagers were terrified as they thought they were going to be killed. But the next thing they saw pushed them past that terror and into an irrational fear.
Indeed, all five bandits, even the one killed by Lan Duoyan, burst out in black flames. Their entire bodies and souls were consumed by those dark flames. The sky turned red as blood and no sound could be heard, not even the screams of the burning men.
Before long everything disappeared as though it had never happened. But the images were engraved in the villagers' memories.