Cao Yun was still dumbfounded by what he had accomplished. Thanks to his Drop of Wrath, he had been able to take over the Evil Qi around him and use it to manifest his martial arts in the real world. Of course, he was a 9th-grade Mortal so he was very close to becoming a true Mortal Warrior. But what he had just done was unheard of. If Huang Liyue had been conscious, she could have seen something else in that move from Cao Yun.
In reality, it was not just Evil Qi that had gotten manifested. Somehow, his blood had participated as well. In some way, this was similar to what Huang Cixi had done. This Qi Manifestation was a mix between a true Qi Manifestation and the way powerful demonic beasts attained such a result as well. Through the Qi in their blood, they could somehow materialize strange phenomena, just like human cultivators. But even among the Huang family, reaching a purity of blood high enough to do so before becoming a Mortal Warrior was almost impossible.
Moreover, Cao Yun had never really practiced any form of blood cultivation. However, the Drop of Wrath had completely transfigured his blood. Right now, his bloodline was superior to even those of 9-core demonic beasts. But because Cao Yun was not that knowledgeable about either blood cultivation and beast taming, he did not realize it. The result was beyond his expectation for he was convinced that he had done so solely through the Evil Qi around him. Still, such an experience would be very beneficial for him. Once he finally became a Mortal Warrior, he would already have some understanding of Qi Manifestation.
While he was transfixed by the situation, the 'Feng Soaring Junk' started to rise from the sea floor. Cao Yun's attack had not completely broken the hull but it caused even more infiltration from the black water. And in a matter of second, even the Enlightened Sandalwood protected by Wei Qi could not resist both the intense pressure and the violent corrosion. Thus, the hull got dislocated and the deck with the sealed cabin on it started to rise slowly.
Before it could rise too high, Cao Yun was able to jump back on it. Once more, he forced the door and then closed it with as much strength as he could. After that, he only had to wait and hope that everything would end up fine. Just to be safe, he kept on using his Drop of Wrath to feel what was going on around the ship.
-
Finally, Cao Yun and Huang Liyue were safe. The wreck rose from the black water and somehow floated on the surface of the Ocean of Turbid Anguish. Although the 'Feng Soaring Junk' had been savagely destroyed, it still kept some kind of aura around itself. Most it was due to the Wei Qi of Huang Liyue's last Qi Manifestation protecting it. When it emerged from the water, it looked like a wounded but still magnificent bird leaping from an ocean of darkness and death. The black water flowed from all around it as the Wei Qi was forming some kind of invisible bubble over the entire ship.
From within the sealed room, Cao Yun was able to feel that Evil Qi had disappeared from atop the ship. His Drop of Wrath only allowed him to feel Evil Qi, and perhaps Death Energy. But since this world had almost no trace of pure Qi and only Evil Qi and Death Energy, this was perfect. In a sense, this intent of the Drop of Wrath was currently more useful than spiritual senses. However, outside of this world, this was almost useless, except for one purpose. Indeed, he may be able to detect demonic cultivators with more ease. Of course, he would most likely not be as competent as Xiao Xuefeng in the matter, but he would be able to feel any trace of Evil Qi within someone who wouldn't be strong enough to hide it from him. As such, he wouldn't need a Spirit Warrior with him to sense that.
With tragedy and danger often came many opportunities and even benefits. But it also meant that he had to survive to profit from them. And the people around him could also pay the price.
Talking about that, Huang Liyue was still in a comatose state.
Now that they were out of the most immediate danger, the young man tried to care some more for the burned woman. Her wounds were absolutely hideous. Even her face had been attacked by the Evil Qi. The scar she had on her right eye had been completely covered by even more scars. Thankfully her eyes had been protected by her Wei Qi but her skin had not. With his lackluster medical knowledge, Cao Yun could almost do nothing to even alleviate her pain. Hopefully, they would find some medicine to help her. As a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior, this kind of wound was not that dangerous after all.
In theory, she could even heal most of them. That was the reason why the scar on her face made many people think. Even without medicines, through her own vitality, she should have been able to heal it very fast. If she had kept it, it was because it had meant something to her. Unless she lost a limb, she could probably heal from almost any wound on her own. But right now, Huang Liyue was so weak that she had lost all traces of consciousness. Hence, those wounds were way more dangerous than they should have been.
Besides, Cao Yun had no way of knowing the actual condition of either her Soul Embryo or her soul. The only thing that was sure was that they had been severely wounded. But Cao Yun still remained hopeful. Unfortunately he was wrong to be. Huang Liyue's Soul Embryo had completely ruptured. Just like Saint Xun Ke, she would never be able to recover from it and would end her life as a mortal. No one had ever recovered from having his Soul Embryo destroyed. Not even an Immortal would be able to come back from such an injury. The first two realms of cultivation consisted in forming this Soul Embryo. There was only one chance to do so in a lifetime. Losing a Soul Embryo was so traumatic that trying to form another one was impossible.
Yet, as he could not know that, Cao Yun decided to keep hope. Even if he had known, she could still live a fulfilling life as a mortal. Saint Xun Ke's last years had been even more important than his entire life, despite his lack of Soul Embryo. In addition, Huang Liyue was an important member of the Huang family so she would live her remaining years without any problem.
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After spending a lot of time on Huang Liyue, cleaning her wounds some more and changing her bandages, Cao Yun turned toward the Mountain Fenghuang egg. Thankfully, it had stayed within the cabin and had been protected all the time they had been attacked and they had been underwater.
Touching it to check on its state, Cao Yun felt that the chick inside was shivering. Subtle tremors could be felt. No matter how much they had tried to protect it, the egg was in a serious state of distress. In order to appease it, Cao Yun took the 6-demonic core he had received from Huang Liyue and put it against the egg. Then, he got an even better idea. Cao Yun literally placed the egg against Huang Liyue. And almost instantly, it stopped to shiver. The True Fiery Fenghuang bloodline in the woman's blood was able to soothe this poor chick.
Once Cao Yun was satisfied that everyone on board was relatively safe, he decided to get out to see what was going on outside.
He was very cautious and used the Drop of Wrath to feel the current level of the black water. Thankfully, enough of the boat had been preserved. Although what remained of the hull was way deeper in the black water than it should have been, this water had not submerged the deck. So Cao Yun could open the door without risking sinking the boat once more.
After getting out, Cao Yun left the door open long enough for new air to come inside before closing it again, just to be safe. He himself breathed in. Being trapped in a perfectly opaque black water with an immense pressure crushing his body while holding his breath had taken a small toll on him. Finally he could breathe.
But what he saw did not make the situation any easier.
In the distance, he saw the Bridges of the Three Blind Ghosts. They were three gigantic bridges. But all of them seemed in terrible state. While he looked at them, he had the impression that he had crossed over some kind of boundary. Although there was no difference in appearance, the black water from his side of those bridges seemed even stranger. In one word, that black water seemed to be more dead, if that meant something.
Maybe it was because of the Drop of Wrath and his new relation with it but Cao Yun was having intense sensations. In his heart, it felt like this place was somehow sacred. That feeling was very ethereal but it felt as though he had entered into a graveyard, with all the solemnity required of it. Now that he was way more attuned to the Drop of Wrath, Cao Yun explored this feeling. He could feel that it was hiding something more profound. And since he was lost at sea with an injured expert, any clue as to where he was or what he could do was good to take. After all, he had no idea about the potential threats around this place.
Cao Yun had not personally witnessed the last parts of the fight against Can Mouye. But this man had followed him through the veil of darkness. And even in this world he had kept on pursuing him. Cao Yun could not believe for an instant that he would simply abandon his task just because he had fallen into this black ocean. Although the Evil Qi was so concentrated that even a demonic cultivator would have been assaulted, he should have been able to dive long enough to retrieve the ship and make sure that Cao Yun was dead.
But he had decided to not only stop his pursuit but even leave. Most likely, Huang Liyue's attack had played a role, but Cao Yun was also convinced that there was something around him that had deterred him. Since he probably knew nothing about this world before coming here, the answer lied in his so-called new master. For now, Cao Yun was still not absolutely convinced that this new master was really Cleansed Asura. However, he clearly knew a lot about him. That meant that he probably also knew a lot about this place since it seemed to be related to Cleansed Asura as well. Thus, Can Mouye had likely received his information from this mysterious source.
Finally Cao Yun felt something more concrete from the Drop of Wrath. There was some sensation of familiarity that truly felt like what Cao Yun had perceived in the woods when he had fled toward the gate of this world. Either this sensation was related to Cleansed Asura, or better, to a gate out of this world. If that were the case, Cao Yun could leave with Huang Liyue. Then he could find Matriarch Huang Yufeng and save her former bodyguard's life. Besides, they could even go back in this world and capture Can Mouye. Apparently, all his seals had been erased. This meant that for once they could interrogate a demonic cultivator without him burning away.
Of course, this was the hopeful side of Cao Yun that was speaking. But considering the current situation, he had to be hopeful.
But no matter what this feeling was, the young man had no real choice. If he tried to go back, he would ultimately be faced with Can Mouye again. Furthermore, the only leads he had concerning a potential exit were either the Desolate Palaces or Can Mouye's master. The Desolate Palaces were high in the sky. And even if he was able to somehow get there, there were Bone Kings in them. Even Huang Liyue with her full strength had a hard time against them. On the other hand, Can Mouye's master was also a no go because he literally wanted to capture him, probably to extract the Drop of Wrath.
Considering and weighing down all his options, Cao Yun decided to try and go forward in the direction the Drop of Wrath was indirectly showing to him. In order to do that, Cao Yun broke off some planks from the 'Feng Soaring Junk'. Just for that, he exerted all of his strength. But he had now improvised oars to row the boat.
For several days, Cao Yun exerted his strength to move the boat toward the right direction. He only stopped a handful of times to eat and drink. And each one of these times, he made sure to check on Huang Liyue and on the egg. The poor woman remained in her comatose state while the egg was slowly stabilizing. The 6-demonic core allowed it to absorb some Qi. Besides, the bloodline of Huang Liyue was having a positive effect on the egg as well.
Only after several days did the Bridges of the Three Blind Ghosts disappear on the horizon. They were so gigantic that they could be seen from a very long distance. The mere fact that they had finally disappeared meant that this world was also curved. In fact, it was possible that this was even a planet like the Piaolu planet. In which case, Cao Yun could imagine how vast this Yellow Death World would be.
Right now, he was forced to row the boat with his bare muscles. Moreover, the black water was extremely dense. It had been a tremendous help to float back up, but it was a terrible inconvenience to row. As such, the boat was moving at a slow pace. But Cao Yun kept it steady. Thanks to his Drop of Wrath, he was capable of feeling the currents in the Evil Qi below. Thus he was able to optimize his rowing as much as possible.
-
After ten days in total, Cao Yun finally saw what seemed to be the origin of the Drop of Wrath's feeling. On the horizon, there was a small black metallic rod risen to the sky. At first, it was very clear but it looked like the finial of a pagoda. Indeed, as Cao Yun was getting closer to it, he saw the rest of the building. That metallic rod was really the ultimate extremity of the finial.
But as he was getting close, Cao Yun saw something else. From his right side, there was a tiny white stain on the horizon, very vivid on this black ocean.