The two guards started to become impatient. Before they warned Cao Yun again, he spoke.

"My friends, let's talk inside." He showed Mei Hua, Sun Liao and Wang Mei in.

Naturally, they all agreed and followed him in. Once inside, Cao Yun asked Huang Cixi to prepare some tea for his friends. In fact, he just wanted to keep her away as the matter he was about to talk about was extremely dangerous.

They all sat down around his table and Cao Yun was the first one to talk. All of his friends were pretty anxious about Ren Chao, especially Sun Liao and Wang Mei.

"I did not want to involve you all, but it seems like there's no other choice. What I'm about to tell you will put your lives in danger... but maybe, they already are... Do you still want to know?" With a very serious tone, Cao Yun looked at each of them straight in the eyes.

The first to answer was Sun Liao. His usual arrogance had almost disappeared to be replaced by worry.

"Brother Chen! If Brother Ren or yourself are in danger, then I wish to share it with you. Do not belittle me by thinking me a coward!"

Following suit, Wang Mei answered.

"I know that my Coiling Silk is involved in some way. But I wish to protect Ren Chao no matter what!"

And finally, Mei Hua was the one with the fewer ties with Ren Chao. However, she had ties with Cao Yun and felt a bit responsible for his situation. After all, he had antagonized Luduo Bu in order to protect her own little sister. Moreover, she was quite fond of Cao Yun and considered him as a dear friend after all the time he had spent with Mei Ying and her. He could even be considered half a brother considering the interest her master had in him.

"Brother Chen, I agree as well. I may not be a great fighter, but I can be extremely useful, I assure you."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Cao Yun felt as if a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders. There were many reasons why he had not talked to his friends about this matter. The most important one was that he did not want to implicate them with him. Demonic cultivators were extremely dangerous and used devious and malicious techniques. On the other hand, he was also thinking of his main objective. He wanted to capture demonic cultivators to interrogate them. If they were captured by the Wubei Sect, he probably couldn't do so alone and his identity could be exposed or he may not get to the information he wanted.

At first, he thought he could deal with Lu Meihan before anything happened to his friend. But now that the threat against Ren Chao had become reality, there was no more time for secrecy.

"Then, I'll tell you everything. The first time I met Lu Meihan, she tried to use an array formation against me."

Hearing this, Wang Mei was shocked but she saw that Cao Yun was truthful. She was sincerely loyal to Lu Meihan. When she had joined the sect as a servant, Lu Meihan had been like an older sister. And since she had finally become an outer disciple, she had always been generous with her. The Lu Meihan she knew would never resort to such means. However, her injury had changed her a lot. She turned depressed and Wang Mei had to admit that she now could see her do such a thing.

Sun Liao also realized something. "This is the array formation you showed me, right?"

"Indeed, she used some incense to make me lose control over my own body. I only later understood her objective. I caught a conversation between her and who I believe to be a demonic cultivator."

The shock intensified on his friends' faces. Demonic cultivators were really considered like demons by the orthodox cultivators. Some even deemed them more disgusting than demons because they were betraying their own species. Humans in the Hongchen Kingdom were surrounded by demons on all their borders and yet some of them were ready to throw down their humanity to gain strength. This was a treason against all mankind.

And their means were really horrendous. Imagining than Lu Meihan was in league with them, Mei Hua and Sun Liao turned toward Wang Mei. She was as shocked as them and yet she did not protest. It meant that she could picture her own faction leader doing this. In fact, Wang Mei had realized that Lu Meihan would be able to do anything if she could recover. She was truly desperate.

"Apparently, she got severely wounded during an attempt to break through to the Mortal Warrior realm. Since then, she's almost been too weak to leave her bed. And the demonic cultivator gave her a solution: a dual cultivation method. It seems like I'm the best candidate for it. If she performs this method with me, she'll absorb my energy. I'll die. But her injuries will be healed."

Sun Liao stood up. "And she's using Ren Chao as bait since you resisted her first attempt!"

Wang Mei realized that this meant Ren Chao was still alive and safe. They would have no reason to hurt him as long as they did not use him to lure his friend in. But this also meant something else. Ren Chao would become a loose end and he would have to be killed. She remembered her conversation with Lu Meihan and knew that she was right about this.

"We need to go rescue him! Once they use him to lure you in and force your hand, they won't need him anymore!"

Wang Mei had completely lost her elegant demeanor. She went from worried to panicked.

"Calm down, please. They won't hurt him. They still need him to lure me in as you just said. Right now, they don't know that I know. They probably think that we're worried about him but that we have no clue as to where he might be." Cao Yun's eyes insisted on Wang Mei. "But you may."

"What?! I know nothing!" Wang Mei thought he was accusing her and denied sincerely.

"That's not what I meant. You're from the Coiling Silk Faction, so you may know of the perfect place to keep a prisoner."

Thinking about this, it made sense. Wang Mei tried to rack her brain and figure out where Lu Meihan would keep Ren Chao. Suddenly, an idea popped in her mind.

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"I'm not absolutely sure, but there is a small storehouse in the southeast of the faction residence. It's not really used lately and it's surrounded by a pond and some trees. Almost no one goes near it. I can't think of anywhere else in the faction residence. After all, all the other buildings are open to customers and in the private chambers of the faction members, that would be too risky. Someone would find out eventually."

Cao Yun had memorized the complete layout of the faction residence thus he saw precisely what she was talking about.

"Perfect! My friends, do you want to hear my plan?"

Mei Hua was a bit surprised. "Brother Chen, shouldn't we just warn the elders? Even though Master Xiao is not here, you have a good relationship with Chief Elder Baishen. If you were to tell her the truth, she would help us for sure."

"Even if she were to break the rules to help us, her intervention would force Chief Elder Bian to intervene in person. If a chief elder acts against a faction, the disciplinary pavilion will necessarily notice. Do you trust Chief Elder Bian? Maybe Xiao Xuefeng would be able to use her spiritual senses without being noticed, but apart from her..."

This question of Cao Yun made Mei Hua silent. She remembered the trial against Luduo Bu and the powerlessness she had felt. He had almost killed her little sister and the justice Chief Elder Bian was so proud of did almost nothing. It was as if the life of her own relative meant nothing to them.

"You're right, we can't trust the disciplinary pavilion!"

Wang Mei did not require any convincing as she sincerely loved Ren Chao. Neither did Sun Liao. His relationship with both Cao Yun and Ren Chao had started very poorly but he had made amends. And now, he considered them both as close friends, no matter how much he teased Ren Chao.

In the best scenario, Cao Yun wanted to get information from Lu Meihan. But he understood that she probably knew nothing at all. The demonic cultivator was very careful with both his appearance and his voice. In fact, Cao Yun, despite his sharper senses, could not even identify whether he was a man or a woman.

Now that Ren Chao was in danger, he let go of the idea of capturing her alone to interrogate her. He would use the help of his friends to free Ren Chao. Deep down, he wanted to kill Lu Meihan in order to protect his friends. However, he was within the Wubei Sect. If he killed anyone, the chief elders would be able to find the culprit fairly easily and no matter how much Chief Elder Baishen liked him, he would be judged severely.

"I'm confident in my ability to sneak into the Coiling Silk Faction residence, even in broad daylight. Until Ren Chao is safe, we must not alarm anyone. But I'll still need a bit of a diversion. And I'll need support in case things go haywire. Are you ready to help me?"

All three of them agreed and they listened to the plan. In the kitchen, Huang Cixi was not making tea, she was listening in on them. They had been talking rather discreetly so as not to be heard by the guards, but not discreetly enough for Huang Cixi who was just in the other room. She had a deep grudge against Cao Yun, but just like all the orthodox cultivators, she despised the demonic cultivators. She had witnessed firsthand their savagery.

When she was very young, during one of her travel, her father had killed some demonic cultivators who had slaughtered an entire village. This scene had marked her. The bodies of the villagers, even babies, were piled on, burned, in the middle of the streets. Right now, her mind was a mess as she wasn't sure of what she wanted to do. At first, she had wished to kill Cao Yun in order to avenge her second brother. But as time passed and she came to know him, she just couldn't imagine herself do it anymore. And she also had uncovered his identity.

She knew that he too had lost all of his family. They were slaughtered by demonic cultivators who attacked without any reason. At least, Cao Yun had killed her brother to save a life. For now, she would support him against these monsters, but she felt extremely conflicted.

-

All three of the visitors left Cao Yun's room. Cao Yun bade them farewell before the two guards and came back inside. He asked Huang Cixi to stay quiet about what she could have overheard. And he also told her he was going to leave in secret. She agreed to help cover for him.

Using 'Locking the Seven and Stopping the Waves', Cao Yun was able to exit his room through a small window without producing any sound whatsoever. He quickly hid on the roof. He saw other guards at the entrance of the first-years dorm, but they were not a problem for him at all. Discreetly, he was able to leave the building and went toward the Coiling Silk Faction residence.

-

It was the beginning of the afternoon in the Coiling Silk Faction residence and a few outer disciples were coming in and out. There were always disciples who came here just after their training. The peace of mind here was perfect to digest newfound insights and understandings. Some members were also able to help someone temper their mind and soul, through music, dance, painting, and many other artistic performances.

With his 'Shen Visualization', Cao Yun knew exactly where the storehouse was. He had deciphered the possible array formations around it and on the way. Unlike last time, he had even been able to get Sun Liao's help. Thus, he was sure of his deductions. After analyzing the movement of everyone, he was confident that no one would approach the old storehouse. As such, he planned his route through the faction residence and found out the best way to get there.

Then, he only had to wait for his friends.

Very soon, Mei Hua and Sun Liao arrived near the main door. Mei Hua's face was dark and angry. As soon as she saw the women guarding the door, she erupted.

"You! Tell me the truth! This moron came here last night, right?!" Mei Hua's tone was excessively aggressive and she pointed at Sun Liao without even looking at him.

"Please, Sister Mei, don't make a scene..." Sun Liao had to act rather meek and obedient.

"What?! You dare tell me not to make a scene!" Mei Hua's acting was perfect. In fact, her anger wasn't really an act. When she heard the diversion she had to partake in, she had sincerely gotten angry. She turned back toward the women. "Don't you dare lie to me! He was here last night, right?!"

The other customers got intimidated by this 'domestic dispute'. Many women from the Wubei Sect had the wrong idea about the Coiling Silk Faction. As such, some men did not want to be discovered even though they never did anything suspicious.

Seeing their customers fleeing the gate, the two guards quickly sent words to their superior and tried to appease Mei Hua.

"Sister Mei, I can attest that Brother Sun has not come here yesterday at all, day or night." That was the truth. In fact, he had gotten invited by people in his faction so he had come here previously. But it had been a long while now.

"You see, Sister Mei, you wronged me! How are you going to make amends, now?" This time, Sun Liao's arrogance came back. Hearing him speak with such a tone, Mei Hua got even angrier.

"You're working together to hide the truth!" The scene went completely out of control. "I won't leave until you tell me what actually happened here last night!"

An older member of the faction arrived and tried to calm the situation. Even though Cao Yun was far from the entrance, he could hear the yelling. This was his moment to act!

He had left his weapon with his friends when they left his room. Even with the 'Locking the Seven and Stopping the Waves', his 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' was way too big to sneak inside with it. Circulating this method, he realized that it was even more efficient now that his Po had reached the True Success stage. Even faster that before, he got inside the faction residence and went straight for the storehouse.

He easily passed through the only array formation on his way and listened to what was going on inside. With his sharp senses, he heard the slow heartbeat of someone. He was not able to identify whose it was, but it sounded like someone sleeping, or drugged. As such, he immediately thought about Ren Chao and entered the small building.