As they were lost in their embrace, Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue's body, mind and Qi melded into each other. They were in perfect unison, practicing the 'Dance of the White Mountains', a known dual cultivation for Mortal Warriors. The technique wasn't really about the various positions. In fact, the main point of the technique was rather in the preparation rather than in the execution. But there were still important key points, like which acupoints had to be focused on and in which order. The distribution of the five elements through the body so that the two partners could be perfectly complementary was also important and this balance had to be kept during the entire dual cultivation.
Their bodies were intertwined and as much in contact with each other as possible. Throughout their torsos, they could feel the body heat of the other as well as the perspiration resulting of their tumultuous dance.
Within each of them, the medicinal essence of the pill they had consumed was also being controlled by their dual cultivation. Cao Yun first sensed an intense cold coating his Middle Dantian. But this sensation didn't last long, completely erased by Feng Yingyue's chest on his skin. The heat melted the first layer of the pill but the cold had still protected his organs from the very first hint of Fire Qi within the pill. The pill itself was quickly dissolved but it contained many layers upon layers. Each layer had a specific amount of Fire Qi. And they were all kept together through an intense cold.
As this first layer was dissolved, Cao Yun's chest began to heat up. Since his blood was already full of Fire Qi, his body was already used to this sensation and it didn't alarm him. At the same moment, he felt a gentle energy going up his Conception Vessel. From his perineum, it climbed his torso, passing by his navel and losing itself into his sternum as it was going deep toward his heart. This gentle energy had come from his physical connection with Feng Yingyue. Thanks to that, the Fire Qi was even easier to tame.
In his sea of consciousness, Cao Yun felt the Rune of Fire heat up a little as well and his Black Heart Flame seemed to be just as happy as he was. The Rune of Fire was literally engraved in his Drop of Wrath. Even if he could move it around, its home was his heart and thus his Middle Dantian. As such, the Fire Qi was directly in contact with the Rune of Fire and the Black Heart Flame. In fact, the Black Heart Flame even consumed a tiny part of this Fire Qi, getting a bit stronger. Cao Yun could have prevented it by controlling the flame, but he certainly didn't want to. That flame could be very useful. As it was made of Death Energy, few cultivators could resist it unless they were much more powerful than Cao Yun or had an intimate knowledge of the soul.
The Middle Dantian, just like the Upper Dantian and the Lower Dantian was made up of nine chambers. Cao Yun would have to fill them up with Fire Qi and he began with the most important chamber, the Chamber of the Mysterious Elixir, very similar to the one present in his Upper Dantian. This was the very center of his heart and where the Drop of Wrath was. As such, it would be the easiest chamber to heat up. Then, the others would naturally fill up as soon as the Fire Qi couldn't be contained in this chamber alone. Unlike in his mind cultivation, he didn't really need to focus on each chamber individually. However, this might make the process even faster if he could really sense every subtlety in his own Middle Dantian.
While Cao Yun's cultivation was progressing, Feng Yingyue could feel an intense heat as well as a strange Wood element going down her legs and up her sides before following her arms. This Wood element was associated with the seed of the world tree Cao Yun had in him. It wasn't directly the seed itself but some radiant energy from it. Since Cao Yun had already explained to her how he had tempered his Five Prodigious Gates and since she was a genius in alchemy, Feng Yingyue quickly used those energies to her advantage. Just as she could feel the heat of Cao Yun's skin under her hands, her Lao Gong were being tempered. And as her legs were intertwined with Cao Yun's, her Yong Quan, the two Earthly Springs, were getting more and more agitated. This heat both from within and from without was being soothed by a cold that had come from Cao Yun's chest.
There was near perfect harmony between the two of them and within their bodies. As soon as something happened to one of them, the other was able to counter it to keep a balance without losing any benefit. Most of it was instinctive as they weren't really analytical right now. Indeed, they were completely lost into each other.
It lasted a very long time once again. Thankfully, the Alchemy Conference didn't resume right away and they obtained a bit more time. But in the end, they were forced to stop.
Cao Yun retained the Frozen Fire pill in his Middle Dantian. Before all of the Fire Qi and medicinal essence was absorbed by his body, it would take several weeks if not months. Now, he could cultivate Fire Qi without any problem. Not only had he a lot of Fire Qi in his blood, he even had a new source of pure Fire Qi in his very heart. He simply had to get rid of the current layer of cold to unleash the next layer of Fire Qi and absorb it. Of course, he still had to be cautious as each layer was much more intense than the previous one. Even with his Rune of Fire and his Drop of Wrath, he wouldn't be in a hurry. Slowly, he would accustom his Middle Dantian to it and unleash the Fire Qi layer by layer.
Laying next to each other in a luxurious bed, the two Dao companions were still looking at their partner's face. The two of them were still very young and they could easily lost themselves in their passion. To be honest, they barely spoke. But they knew what the other was feeling. And Feng Yingyue could tell that Cao Yun had a tough decision to make. Of course, she knew everything about his past and he had not kept anything from her about his current plight.
"You shouldn't listen to Spirit Master Xiao too much. Although you can trust her wholeheartedly, she has a lot of responsibilities when it comes to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. Instead of listening to her every words, try to listen to what you want first. You want to know who that girl is. If someone had any information on your family, you should do anything to get it. Of course, as the Wubei Sect's Young Sect Master, you also have a duty to them and you can't antagonize Emperor Weide directly. But I know that if you don't act now you will regret it later. Most likely, Emperor Weide knew you were with his daughter in the Subei Province. You might even try to use that to get an audience with her."
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"Maybe... After all, he most likely wants this pill for his daughter. At least, I don't see why he would need it otherwise. Maybe I can work with that to get to see her again. But I doubt she would appear with her face revealed and that would be strange to just ask out of the blue..."
"Then, why don't you say that you might have an idea about her injuries but you need to see how bad they are first? Even if her face doesn't remind you of anything, you can examine her and then pretend that the injuries are more serious than you thought. Or even better, maybe you will really think of a pill that could help her. That would be the best outcome after all. Then, you would have secured a connection with Emperor Weide and you could try to earn his trust. The Emperor himself might try to help you cultivate faster to help his daughter, unknowingly bringing closer the moment of your just retribution."
Feng Yingyue's words were indeed interesting. Other possibilities were opening in front of Cao Yun. For the time being, he really couldn't use the Frozen Fire pill for Hongyu...
The first thing Cao Yun did when he left his chambers was to go to the stables in order to see Hongyu. He then showed her the True Essence Frozen Fire pill. Seeing it, the fenghuang was excited. She could sense the powerful Fire element within. Such a pill might even help her form her fifth core, getting rid of her problem. At the very least, this fifth core would contain the evil core without her using her essence blood for that.
"Hongyu, I'm sorry. I've made this pill for you, but I can't give it to you now. I hesitated to tell you because I didn't want to give you hopes and then take them away. However, you do deserve to know. I still need this pill to resolve a problem related to my family. But I swear that as soon as I can, I will give it to you, or even a better one if I can."
As he was stroking Hongyu's feathers, she extended her head toward him to give him better access. Although he couldn't understand her since she couldn't speak, he knew that she had understood him and didn't mind. After all, he had used his own blood to help her. And all their time together, he had tried to help her again and again. Even though she was frustrated by that pill she couldn't consume right away, she didn't show it at all. Ironically, this made Cao Yun feel even more guilty.
In a few hours, the Alchemy Conference would resume. But before that, Cao Yun wanted to set up his meeting with Emperor Weide. There was a risk that his body double would take his place of course. But at the very least, Emperor Weide would be close by to observe everything. Talking with his body double would be like talking to him in a sense. Even if his mind was made up, Cao Yun still wanted to talk about it with Xiao Xuefeng to keep her in the loop. Not only was he putting himself on the line there, but also his entire Wubei Sect and he might even implicate the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. However, he had listened to Feng Yingyue's words. This was his decision and he would live with the consequences.
-
In the Sunmen Province, far from the border where skirmishes with the demons were common, there was a small village. Since they were almost out of the Sunmen Province, they didn't fear the upcoming war. In fact, they were mostly mortals and didn't really care about politics. Still, they revered Emperor Nuwa as a living god. Thanks to the Silver Wolf General's army, they had been safe from the demonic beasts stampede, unlike what had happened to the south in the Subei Province. As such, they were very peaceful even though the Hongchen Kingdom overall was experiencing troubling times.
After the demonic beasts stampede, they had taken in a few refugees from other villages. There was only a handful of them while the village had around four hundred inhabitants. This really wasn't much. Besides, they had very quickly assimilated. After all, they were coming from the same kingdom. And the Silver Wolf General had been smart enough to send them to a village that had almost the same religious and philosophical views. Like that, he had made sure that there would be almost no problem. And that had been true until now.
That morning though, something unsettling happened. One of the refugees who was appreciated by all, came in the middle of the open market. There was a statue of Emperor Nuwa there. And in front of everyone, he climbed on top of it. Obviously, everyone turned toward him thinking he had lost his reason. Until now, he had always respected the statue like everyone else. But at this moment, he took out a knife and cut deep into his leg. Slicing his main artery, a thick flow of blood ran across his pants and all the way to the statue. Emperor Nuwa's face was rapidly covered in blood.
As the man was becoming white and blemish, he shouted and terrified everyone.
"May our lord and god rise from the blood of the weak. May the world be covered in his violent blood. May all humans cower in fear. May the progeny of the traitor weep in agony. All hail Empyrean Asura! All hail Demon God Da Mo!"
Even his dying voice was strong enough to be heard throughout the village. Then, words no one was able to understand were pronounced. If Cao Yun had been there, he would have recognized the Moshenhua. In fact, it was a very ancient tongue of Moshenhua. This was equivalent to the Primitive Nuhua for the current humans. Many demons didn't even speak this tongue. However, it was often used in rituals and ceremonies for set phrases.
Dian Mo would have immediately recognized this phrase. This was almost impossible to translate but it was a way of glorifying Demon God Da Mo while insulting all humans as being inferior creatures, almost vermin. Roughly translated, it meant 'From the blood of the disgusting rotting worms, the all-powerful emperor of all eight world will be reborn. May his rule by long and filled with the howls of agony of the rotten pest.'.
As he spoke, his blood began to become agitated. It was as though it was boiling. Even his body began to spasm. From his chest, his heart literally exploded. Tentacles of blood erupted from this exposed organ while his blood turned into thin threads going everywhere. His five sheng of blood turned into a giant spider's net that went everywhere. It was so fast almost no one was able to react in time. Everyone present in the market was pierced through the heart. Then, their own blood was added to the mix and the spider's next expanded.
Even those who had been in their house were suddenly stabbed in the heart. However, their deaths were not instantaneous. Sadly, despite their heart being pierced through and through, they could feel their blood boiling in them. Even if it lasted only a few seconds, the pain was unbearable. For less than a minute, the village was covered in terrible screams. And then, there was absolute silence.