"That night when you first came into our residence, I couldn't even feel your presence. Your technique is most impressive. On the battlefield, I have been faced with many stealth techniques. Not a single one reached the level you've come to. In fact, I can think of a single technique I've witnessed once, but it belongs to the Huang family. And I also heard that Spirit Master Xiao is fond of you. I imagine that Chief Elder Baishen went crazy when she saw your martial arts."
"Indeed, General."
Just like his son, General Yun had entered the Wubei Sect some decades ago. From everything Cao Yun had heard about him, he was confident he could trust him. However, he didn't know to which extent he would accept to help him. What Cao Yun really didn't want was Gu Song to learn his real identity. His plan was going well for now and he certainly didn't want to ruin it. Considering the tensions between the Yun family and the Xue family, there was no way General Yun would let them know anyway.
"My son also told me about this Yong Ke. You've only just met her recently, yet you trust her enough to give her an important task in your plans..."
"Yes I have met her on the way to Qingyun City. But we fought side by side and she risked her life to protect mine. Besides, I feel like there is something familiar about her. And I am certain that she wants the good of the people. As long as we're facing a demonic cultivator, I assure you that she will do everything she can to take him down."
"What are you expecting from me? You know I can't just barge into the Xue residence with my army, for the same reason you can't call your masters. And I imagine that you have absolutely no proof..."
"Unfortunately, this is accurate. However I can assure you that Gu Song does hide within the Xue residence and that Xue Rui is his disciple."
"No need to try to convince me, I already trust your words. If Sect Leader Xuan chose you, I can say confidently that you are destined to be a great figure of our Hongchen Kingdom. Technically, I am still attached to the Wubei Sect. So in a sense, you might even be considered as my senior. Moreover, your talents are great and I see no reason for you to risk everything just to conspire against either my family or the Xue family."
"Thank you, General."
"But then, once again, what do you expect of me?"
"If my plan goes well, Gu Song should take me to him of his own free will. And if I'm successful, I'll be able to both kill him and extract everything he knows."
Hearing that, even General Yun was surprised. Cao Yun was talking about killing a 4th-grade Spirit Warrior. Even he as a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior would have a hard time doing so. But somehow, he believed that Cao Yun could do it. Of course, in a fight he would be destroyed in an instant. But as a general he understood that the preparation before the fight was oftentimes more important that the fight itself. Choosing the place of the battle with great care was essential. Even a great army could be decimated by a weaker force if they were able to bring them where they wanted them.
It had been months since Cao Yun had begun to plot against Gu Song. Although he was way stronger than Cao Yun, Gu Song was oblivious to this threat. Thus, General Yun wasn't completely thrown off by Cao Yun's confidence.
"However, there is still a chance of failure. I have means to protect my life, but having your support would be a good thing. If I'm able to bring Gu Song out in the open, I would need you to do everything you can to subdue him. If you're the one who captures him, then I can still have a chance of extracting what I want from him."
"In other words, I should prevent anyone else from capturing him, not even the Governor's forces."
"Yes."
"Well, I don't trust this Jiahe Lan, but don't you trust the Imperial City?"
That was a point Cao Yun was not too comfortable with. Until now, General Yun and his family were not implicated in anything. But if Cao Yun were to talk about his defiance of the Imperial City and if General Yun didn't denounce him, it could be construed as him conspiring against the Emperor himself.
Instead of answering, Cao Yun stayed silent. And this silence was mirrored by another silence from General Yun. But this silence was loud enough that both men understood the meaning behind it. Recently, there was a growing mistrust of the Imperial City among many. After all, even during the demonic beast stampede, the Subei Province had not been helped at all. The Yun family had been forced to act on their own and gather support to protect the common people.
Fine, Young Sect Master Chen. As soon as there is unrest in the Xue residence, I will act.
"There is another matter."
"Do tell."
"If I am successful, I will most likely be discovered by the Xue family. Right now, I still don't know if Xue Liu is even aware that Gu Song is a demonic cultivator. Apart from Xue Rui, I can't tell if anyone else knows. It is likely that they will attack me as soon as I'm done. If they do know about Gu Song's identity, they might kill me right away. And even if they don't, they could still try to kill me to save some face. No matter what happens, I might need your assistance. As long as I am captured alive, I will have all the evidence I need to proof what I claim."
"This is no problem at all. In fact, I will also contact an old friend of mine. If he is present, I can assure you that no harm will come to you."
"Thank you, General."
"When do you intend to act?"
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"Before the end of the month. Almost everything is already set. In a day or two, I should have the last piece of the puzzle. Then, I will be ready."
"Are you sure this is everything you need from me? Facing such an opponent for you..."
"This is all, General. By protecting Yinmen City, your son lost an arm because I was the target of those demonic cultivators. I already caused enough damage to your family. And I don't intend to put you in a difficult position."
-
Once everything was over, Cao Yun returned to the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall.
As everything seemed to go well for Cao Yun's preparations, he decided to confer with Dian Mo. Although their relationship had evolved, Dian Mo was still technically Cao Yun's prisoner. Even now, he was still trapped within the Nine Soul Peaks. Although Cao Yun had relinquished the chains from the Drop of Wrath, Dian Mo's spirit which had assumed the shape of the Demon Palace could not leave the confines of those nine rock pillars. Each one was associated with one of the nine chambers of Cao Yun's Upper Dantian. And since the Drop of Wrath had absorbed the seed of the world tree, vines and thin roots of the world tree were entangled all around them.
Despite his status, Dian Mo didn't really feel like a prisoner at all. In fact, he had come to like his current situation. Because of his time trapped in the Demon Palace, he had never known true freedom. The mere fact that he was able to see the outside world and converse with Cao Yun about various subjects had completely changed his life. That didn't mean that he was fulfilled by their current arrangement either though. However, he could be very patient. In the back of his mind, he still had the idea of stealing the Drop of Wrath. Even if Cao Yun found him a new body, this Drop of Wrath was just too tempting. Alas, Cao Yun would control it fully by the time Dian Mo had a new body.
For the time being, Dian Mo didn't show any sign of rebellion at all. In fact, he was rather docile and even obedient. After all, he was helping Cao Yun improve his control of seals. As a spirit who had been created by Demon God Da Mo, he was very powerful when it came to mind and soul techniques. Slowly, Cao Yun had become much more proficient when it came to soul seals. And with the experience he had with the blood runes, he was certain that no physical seal crafted by a demonic cultivator of the Hongchen Kingdom could resist him. However, he probably would have a hard time getting rid of a seal within one's soul or mind. In theory, he could take care of them, but he simply couldn't enter someone else's sea of consciousness.
Dian Mo was also very useful when it came to array formations. Without his help, Cao Yun's plan would have simply never existed.
"Do you think I have a real chance against a 4th-grade Spirit Warrior?"
"Well, your plans are interesting. Your use of array formations is quite imaginative if I say so myself. Besides, he won't expect your ability to control Evil Qi as you do. I am confident that none of the seal he could try to put on you will be efficient. However, even with the Drop of Wrath, subduing the Soul Embryo of such a cultivator will be difficult, especially if you intend to extract something from it. Destroying it would be easier, but it would defeat your purpose."
"Well, I don't care about just killing him. For now everything is falling into place perfectly, maybe even a bit too well. I am sure that not everything will go as well when the time comes. And by the way, this is why I wanted to talk to you today."
"Oh? So you only chatted with me to make me let my guard down? I don't care whether you get the answers you so desire or not. Why would I help you?"
"Well, to begin with, you're lying. Yo do care about those answers because curiosity is eating you up. I understand you better now, after your anxiety, curiosity is your biggest flaw. To be fair, I also have a bit of this flaw in me as well."
"Humph... Let's say you're right... This wouldn't be reason enough for me to help you out."
"But I have another reason for you to help me. I won't ask you to fight his Soul Embryo, but I might need your expertise when it comes to extracting memories from his soul."
Unfortunately, Cao Yun wasn't a Spirit Warrior. As much as he had developed his mind and his soul, he couldn't perform a Soul Memory Search, even within his own sea of consciousness. On the other hand, Dian Mo could do so.
"There would be very little risk for you but much to gain. Right now, you are trapped within my Nine Soul Peaks. If you agree to help me, I will allow you to roam free within my sea of consciousness. In fact, I might even accept to lend you books and manuals than I've mastered. I know that boredom almost killed you. What I can offer you is entertainment. There are many poems, history books and epic novels, even philosophy treatises and personal diaries I could allow you to read. Of course, I'll limit what you can learn to things that I deem not dangerous to me. But there is an entire realm of entertainment to fight your boredom."
Although it might not have seemed enticing to others, Dian Mo was completely hooked by the offer. In fact, he even had a hard time not showing his excitement as the Demon Palace he was shaped as began to shine a little.
Although he could see what Cao Yun was seeing, Cao Yun had the power to block him for two double hours each day. And he was obviously using it to prevent him from obtaining too much information. In particular, Cao Yun was almost systematically blocking any book he was reading. He only allowed Dian Mo to see them when he needed his input. But when it came to poetry and literature, Cao Yun had many many books in his memory that Dian Mo had never seen before. Besides, he could read even more, as Cao Yun could remember the books just by looking at the pages for an instant. Right now, just by casually flipping the pages of a tome he could remember the entire content to the punctuation used.
Of course, Dian Mo was able to memorize things fast as well, but even he was astonished by Cao Yun's speed. Besides, when he was reading, Dian Mo wanted to enjoy himself. So those books could keep him busy for years, or even decades.
"I'll only agree if you promise to regularly memorize new books and give me access to them in your memory."
If Dian Mo had a body, he would almost be salivating right now.
"We have a deal then!"
-
During the following days, Cao Yun kept doing his thing but he traveled a bit more than usual. He visited many shops and got to know a lot of people. With his reputation, many sycophants wanted to get close to him. And he kept acting in a very arrogant manner claiming that he was just here to win the spot for the Alchemy Conference. Besides, he was going to shine during this Alchemy Conference and eclipse all other alchemists in his generation. Unfortunately for those who were displeased with him, he also showed off his skill and proved that he was not just talking out of his ass.
Cao Yun was also invited by many families who wanted to have ties with him. He rejected some offers but still went to many invitations.
At the same time, his True Essence pills were being sold all over the Hongchen Kingdom by the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. A few connoisseurs even realized that something fishy was going on but they would never be able to imagine that a single alchemist could refine so many True Essence pills so fast. In fact, they suspected that the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall had been collecting them for a few decades and was selling them. Maybe it was related to the upcoming war.
Thanks to the auctions, some of the pills sold with an extraordinary price. One was even sold for 37 Yuanbao. This was more than twice what he had had in his spatial ring when he left for the Subei Province. Even with the commission of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, this was an insane amount of money.