"Oh?! You're Chen Guo, right?"
As soon as the older man of the group saw Cao Yun, he recognized him. Hearing the name, the two other Mortal Warriors were a bit surprised. In fact, Cao Yun saw a glint of fear in their eyes. And then, disdain. Although Cao Yun had revealed himself, he was still using 'Ashen Feather Seal' to cover his current cultivation. Besides, Mortal Warriors were not as perceptive as Spirit Warriors so they had no way of seeing through the Qi Manifested ashes that were concealing his real strength.
At first, Cao Yun would have loved to hear more about their plan. But clearly, his opponents were not going to literally talk about every detail of their operation for no reason at all. That being said, he had understood that things hadn't been as smooth as they should have been for them and that made him happy. From what he had heard, they should have entered the Palace of Supreme Wisdom together but got separated when something went wrong, but he had no idea what. And he also had no idea how many were inside. Hopefully, some had died or been unable to enter because of this something that went wrong.
But right now, Cao Yun had a completely different question in mind. Thanks to Huang Liyue, he had obtained an incredible stealth technique. And he hoped to be able to use it for his future endeavors. With it, he wasn't afraid of being found, even by Spirit Warriors. That way, he would be able to investigate all he wanted alone. Yet, a mere 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior had seen through him.
"Indeed I am. How did you find me?"
"Ha ha ha! I didn't..."
Damn! Cao Yun had been stupid! Of course, in each realm there had to be a disciple. If that man had been unable to detect one, it meant that he was using some stealth technique to hide his presence. Thus, it meant that he had discovered the three demonic cultivators and had to be close by. The man had not found out Cao Yun, he had just deceived him into revealing himself.
If he had just stopped to think for an instant, Cao Yun would have rapidly realized that the man had literally sent his voice all around him, not in a specific direction. But in the end, it was pointless. At some point, Cao Yun would have had to attack them anyway. And since they were not keen to talk about their plans out loud, he would have to try out his ideas concerning demonic cultivators.
As he had already retracted his tools and weapon into his spatial ring, Cao Yun did not take them out. Until it was necessary, he didn't want to reveal his cultivation, just in case. Besides, he might still get some information out of those three. The man who was leading the group was clearly smart enough not to spill anything easily. On the other hand, the two others seemed to be a bit slower than he was. But maybe they had less information than him because of it.
"You've entered this place to kill me?"
"Tsk... Don't kid yourself! You think you're worthy of our attention?! We're here for..."
Before he could finish, a powerful slap sent the young man to the ground.
"Moron!"
At first, defiance was seen in the boy's eyes. But upon fully realizing that he was about to tell something he shouldn't have, he calmed down. Then, his eyes turned toward Cao Yun, full of hatred.
"Chen Guo, we have no quarrel with you. We just got lost in this place and we do intend to leave as fast as possible. Fighting would be beneficial for none of us, especially not you. Let's both mind our own business and no one has to die. What do you say?"
The other two young men darted shocked gazes toward their senior. They had not realized how cowardly he was. If they killed Cao Yun, they would get a lot of rewards from their masters. After all, he had been a thorn in their side for some time and had even caused them to change some of their plans. And yet their brother was ready to let him go scot-free because he was afraid of a fight. That boy was not even a Mortal Warrior. What could a 9th-grade Mortal do against three early Mortal Warriors?
On the other hand, Cao Yun realized that this man knew a lot. With his Drop of Wrath, Cao Yun was able to sense that each one of those demonic cultivators had blood runes in them. He was very familiar with them thanks to Luduo Bu. Most likely, that man was afraid that he would be able to extract them from their bodies. The demonic cultivators should know that he had taken them from Luduo Bu, but they couldn't know how.
Unfortunately, unless they took them out of their bodies themselves, Cao Yun would be powerless to capture them. Even with the Drop of Wrath, he would have to be able to pierce their Wei Qi himself to take them. But he could use that worry to his advantage. Fighting against each one of them one on one would not be a problem. But Cao Yun had no idea what their abilities were and how well they could fight together. Judging by the attitude of the two younger ones, they were not used to working as a team with that other man. However, the two 2nd-grade Mortal Warriors seemed to know each other very well through the sneaky gazes they exchanged.
Suddenly, they leapt forward, disregarding the warnings of their senior. Blue lights emerged from their ring finger and two weapons appeared. The first one had a sword breaker, a copper rod that had the exact same handle as a sword. And the other one had a monk's spade. On one end of this pole, their was a spade-shaped blade, while the other end was adorned with a small crescent blade. Without wasting any time, the two of them rushed toward Cao Yun with the clear intention of killing him.
Although they were brazen, they were still careful. In their body, Cao Yun felt the blood runes circulate as though they were their own blood. With them, they brought a lot of vitality and Qi. Even as 2nd-grade Mortal Warriors, their strength had risen by one or two small grades.
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"Void Cruncher Bell"!
Above the monk's spade, a giant bell appeared with thousands of paper talismans pasted on it. It almost looked like a robe that was floating in the sky. When the man attacked with the monk's spade, the bell chimed. Its note was echoing through Cao Yun's bones. If he had been weaker, his bones would have ruptured right away. Thankfully, his bones were way more resistant than that. And by activating his blood, they became tough enough to almost stop vibrating.
"Shadow Tearing Claws"!
Before the monk's spade could reach him, the other man slashed toward Cao Yun's legs with his sword breaker. Around the man, there was now a cape of darkness that was extended into a giant hand with four claws falling down toward the young man.
Finally, the third demonic cultivator decided to fall back. As soon as his juniors decided to disregard his advice, he had leapt backward and hid himself in the trees. Just like Cao Yun, he activated some kind of stealth technique and completely disappeared within the vegetation. Unfortunately for him, this was not enough to conceal his presence from the alchemist's eyes. Now, he had a full image of that jungle in head, there was no way he wouldn't be able to see that man within.
While both attacks were falling on him, Cao Yun did not move. He waited until the very last moments. For a brief instant, he used 'Crafty Harassment' to increase his speed. In the blink of an eye, he was behind the second man who was holding the sword breaker. Without even taking his weapon out, Cao Yun used his bare hand to strike toward him. Although it was a hand attack, in the eyes of the demonic cultivators it looked like Cao Yun was using a spear. Despite his speed, the sword breaker guy was able to react in time. Using the momentum of his failed attack, he rotated his entire body. The shadow cape placed itself between him and Cao Yun's hand. When the spear hand tore through it as though it was paper, it finally encountered the sword breaker.
The shock was so intense that the vibration of the weapon reverberated through its owner's entire skeleton. Taking several steps back, he then coughed up some blood. Cao Yun had used his 'Dance of Slaughter' to add this vibration to his attack.
Cao Yun's technique had left a deep impression, but he himself wasn't happy. He had hoped to be able to kill them without drawing his weapon and without using Qi Manifestation. But he had been a bit too optimistic. Even with his new understanding of martial arts, he was still unable to kill three Mortal Warriors like that. In a one-on-one battle though, he would have probably needed less than ten moves each.
Despite this small disappointment, Cao Yun's attack had caused some real fear in his opponents. This was the perfect moment to strike with all his might. His goal was not to kill them but to neutralize them to then try and extract some information. For that, he needed to be swift. At any moment, they could detonate their Lower Dantian to kill themselves. After all, dying from that was better than having a seal burn away your very soul.
As he was about to take out his spear, Cao Yun moved out of the way. Thankfully, he had kept a part of his mind on the third guy. That man was wielding a bow made of several bones he could not clearly identify right now. Without any sound or any disturbance in the surrounding Qi, he had shot an arrow made of bone as well. Even with Cao Yun's speed, if he had sensed the projectile an instant later, he would have been dead. Indeed, the speed of the arrow was way beyond what even his body could resist. Besides, it was covered in Evil Qi. It could probably tear through his Wei Qi and his flesh without losing all of its momentum.
Although the first two demonic cultivators had been cocky at first, they were fully committed now. The cloak of shadow spread all around the place while the bell was making extremely weird noises, animating the air around it. No light was able to go through the cloak. But apparently, the archer was still able to see through it in order to shoot as Cao Yun was forced to dodge several more arrows.
Forced to move all over the place to avoid the barrage of arrows, Cao Yun finally took out his spear from his spatial ring. Immediately, they all realized that he had broken through. If he was a Mortal Warrior, he was an even bigger threat. Although chances had always been slim, both men on the ground fully regretted their disregard for their senior. If they had tried to negotiate, maybe they could have lowered this man's vigilance. Just by buying a bit of time, maybe they could have even been joined by others, or transported away again. They had been way too rash and arrogant. But there was no point blaming themselves now.
'Fish in the Galaxy'!
Cao Yun did not hesitate a single instant. For the very first time, he would show his real Qi Manifestation in public. Pouring everything in his spear, it became as large as a tree in the eyes of his opponents. Then, he threw it in the direction of the archer. After each shot, the senior was always moving around with his stealth. As such, it was difficult to follow him. Unfortunately for him, Cao Yun had his mind cultivation and 'Ashen Feather Seal' had 'Burning the Cinders of the Six Openings', a set of techniques to improve perception. In Cao Yun's eyes, the position of the third man was rather clear. Besides, with this attack, he didn't need to be precise.
Qi coalesced around his spear as it flew in the air. It took the form of a dragon with fins. In fact, it almost looked like a snake coiled around the spear. But the spear itself turned into a small lake of stars. For a mortal, it would have looked like a dragon infant crossing across the constellations in the sky. As though the cloak of shadow did not exist, it went through it and destroyed several trees when it struck the archer. At the moment of impact, a rib cage appeared out of thin air. The ribs were shattered in an instant and the several pieces scattered everywhere. With his perception, Cao Yun was certain that the archer was still alive. But his bow had been broken, and maybe his arms as well.
Since he had thrown his weapon, the two other demonic cultivators decided to seize this opportunity to attack once more. This time, the bell fell directly toward Cao Yun. And from everywhere in the darkness, claws appeared. They were able to get out of the shadows everywhere. If Cao Yun was trapped under the bell, he would have no place to run and he would get ripped to shreds by those.
When he had thrown his spear, Cao Yun was aware that he would be in a pinch. Although he could now call it back to him with his Qi, it would still take some time. As the bell fell over him, Cao Yun did not try to dodge it in the slightest. Both his opponents were ready to use their weapons in order to seal his movements. Yet, it had been useless. It was as though Cao Yun had let himself get trapped. And as soon as he was under the bell, the sword breaker guy used another one of his techniques. The cloak of shadow completely disappeared under the bell as well. Thousands of claws would occupy the same space as Cao Yun.
But someone who knew Cao Yun would have realized something. The spear he had thrown was not 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear'. From his spatial ring, his true spear appeared. And from within the bell, he struck with his latest technique.
'The Dragon's Body Hits the Earth'!
Using the butt of his spear, Cao Yun completely destroyed the walls of the bell. With the shockwave caused, the shadows were dispersed long enough for him to emerge from them. Behind him, the broken bell fell pitifully to the ground.