Within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness, Dian Mo saw his rage being materialized before him. Even the Flying Poison Cao Yun had subdued was moving around. Thankfully, he was completely chained down to the Nine Soul Peaks. But there was no doubt that Cao Yun was fully enraged. However, in the physical world, he was controlling himself so well that only Feng Yingyue saw something abnormal with his complexion. As soon as this 'Domain of the Three Confluences' had emerged, he had lost it. Try as she might, she couldn't tell what had happened because she couldn't sense anything unusual with this.
There was another who sensed that change, Hongyu. She was also very close to Cao Yun, and he had literally been using the Drop of Wrath on her at the time. Of course, she was able to feel his powerful emotions. Whoever that man was up in the sky, Hongyu knew that he was an enemy of her brother. But when she tried to look at him, she sensed a form of familiarity between that man and Cao Yun, it was strange and unpleasant though. No, it wasn't the man himself, it was his Domain.
According to what Cao Yun knew, a Domain was the physical manifestation of one's sea of consciousness. In fact, even a Sage couldn't manifest a Domain, only a Monarch could do so. This was the main difference between the two realms. A Sage would study the Dao and slowly transform their sea of consciousness. Only after it had been fully built and transformed could it be manifested outside in the form of a Domain. Right now, Emperor Weide wasn't manifesting his sea of consciousness at all. And he wasn't using array formations like Sect Leader Xuan to mimic the process.
Others might have thought that he was drawing upon Emperor Nuwa to create this phenomenon. In fact, Xiao Xuefeng and Huang Liyue were convinced it was the case. However, Cao Yun knew the truth because he could feel what that Domain was deep in his soul. Now, he realized what that feeling had been when he had seen Emperor Weide. He had felt like his mother, in a perverted way. And now that his Domain was out, there was absolutely no doubt in Cao Yun's mind. This Domain wasn't Emperor Weide's sea of consciousness, it was his mother's.
"Dian Mo! How is it possible?!"
"I don't know too much about human cultivation..."
"But you do have an idea?!"
In Cao Yun's tone, there was absolutely no room for any nonsense. Although Dian Mo wasn't too sure himself, he did have an idea. However, he knew that this wouldn't be too pleasant to the young man. But then again, the truth rarely was.
"The only thing that comes to mind is that he used her soul to extract her sea of consciousness. From what I read in the reports and in Gu Song's memories, some of the women of the Shui family do have something similar to the souls of the deva in them. But in theory, this should only be awakened in their Soul Embryo. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean that it isn't present in them even at birth. Of course, extracting their Soul Embryo is the best way to use it. If Emperor Weide had been able to refine her Soul Embryo, he might have become a Sage already.
"That being said, the most likely scenario here is that your mother died. They probably wanted to capture her alive to force her to cultivate and become a Spirit Warrior. But since she was dead, they still extracted her soul from her corpse before it could depart on its own. There are ways to conserve a soul intact for some time, but they... Well, you probably don't want to know what they entail... Not right now at the very least... Let's just say that the agony is so intense that her mind was destroyed. Apparently, your Emperor used her soul to extract her sea of consciousness and add it to his. Even if he can't manifest his own, he can use hers as he pleases because she's already dead."
"Emperor Weide? My Emperor? No! That thing is no Emperor! That thing is a beast in human's clothing! He killed my own blood, desecrated their bodies, and now he torments their very souls! I will kill that bastard! I will kill humanity's traitor!"
"Calm down! You can't a thing against him right now! If you go after him, you'll just die, plain and simple! Calm down, boy! If you die, I die. But then think about your brothers and sister, about your Dao companion, about all those who followed you one way or another. And think about Yong Ke."
"Yong Ke?"
Suddenly, Cao Yun couldn't repress his desires any longer. He couldn't wait for one more second. He had to know who Yong Ke was. After hearing what he had just heard and feeling the Traitor's Domain, he had an ominous feeling in his heart. Because Hongyu was stable and Feng Yingyue and Mei Hua there to help her, Cao Yun simply left.
"Brother Chen!"
Mei Hua tried to stop him but Feng Yingyue grabbed her arm.
"Sister, let him go."
Mei Hua saw something in Feng Yingyue's eyes. It was as though she knew he had to do something but she was also afraid she might never see him again. Looking at Cao Yun's back, he was clearly going toward the Everlasting Earth Palace, in the very heart of the most terrible fight the Imperial City had ever seen since Emperor Nuwa's Great War.
-
In Sunmen City, General Long had asked his son and his daughter to stay in Xiguan City. Long Jian had protested a lot but he was a soldier and he couldn't disobey a direct order. However, he knew that his father had made that decision because he was afraid of losing him or his sister.
"Commandant Zheng, protect Xiguan City while we're busy dealing with the demons. The threats are not only without but even within. For the time being, we can't be sure of who's loyal to mankind and who's a spy sent by the Empyrean Asura Theocracy."
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"Yes, General."
"Commandant Liu, your men must be as discreet as possible. Those spies must not know we are after them until it's too late. The best outcome would be to capture them alive for interrogation. You will lead a small group toward the south-east, track them and arrest them before they can cause too much damage. Know that sadly getting the spies is the priority. But if you do find civilians, try and help them as long as it doesn't clash with your primary goal."
"Yes, General!"
"Commandant Su, Commandant Yehe, Commandant Liyan, reinforce our positions to the border. Stay behind our own lines. We don't want the demons to know we're aware of their plans, but we want to put enough pressure to deter them. Unfortunately, considering how long they must have prepared for this day, they won't abort, but they might be forced to alter their plans. Altered plans will necessarily be less thought out that their original designs."
"Yes, General!"
"You all have a distress stone. Break it if you need immediate reinforcement, I will personally go to you right away. Only use it in case of emergency. Until we have more information, I will stay in the capital to prepare our forces for any kind of attack."
"Yes, General!"
Silver Wolf General Long didn't want to empty his capital, but he had to send almost all his troops on those missions. Only Commandant Zheng would stay by his side. He was the commandant in charge of Long Jian and Long Huafang's battalions. All the officers could guess that General Long Cheng's decision had been influenced by their presence, but they didn't think it was a bad decision either. His men were absolutely loyal to him because they had seen him in battle many many times. And they knew he would never waste a life for no reason. Several times in his long carreer, he had risked his very life to save his own soldiers.
Before becoming a general, he had had a great reputation. Since then, it had only ever improved. Thus, his orders were obeyed not out of obligation but out of respect. Until now, his strategies had always given them victory with as few deaths as possible. However, they could see that he was anxious. Indeed, the situation was completely different now, he was in uncharted territories. For the time being, he had no idea what the demons were planning. That had never happened before.
Even if he didn't know exactly where they would strike, he knew the strategies and tactics employed by the demons. This time around though, everything was new. And he didn't want to sacrifice his men. But he knew that a large number of them would die just so he could understand what was going on. The biggest problem was that he didn't know which group would suffer the most... In fact, the capital itself wasn't the safest place. If the Imperial City was attacked, Xiguan City could also fall. At the very least, he was there with his kids. But then, he might have been more useful near the border...
Hopefully, Commandant Liu would bring the spies as soon as possible. Although he wasn't an expert like Xiao Xuefeng, he was confident in his ability to perform Soul Memory Searches, especially on weak cultivators.
-
Cao Yun activated his 'Ashen Feather Seal' as much as he could and went directly toward the Everlasting Earth Palace. There was no hesitation at all in him. Usually he loved to have a plan before acting. But this time he was being a bit too emotional. Of course, his mind cultivation was preventing his mind from being completely clouded by his raw emotions. However, he simply couldn't wait any longer while the broken soul of his mother was being used in front of him. He remembered her younger sister being dragged away from him. Back then, he had been completely powerless. Today, he refused to remain the same powerless boy.
In five years, he had accomplished many things. Hell, he had been able to trick and kill a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior. Even if he didn't have all those tricks at his disposal right now, he had to act. Early Spirit Warriors would be unable to even detect him at the moment and all the powerful Spirit Warriors were up in the skies. Hopefully, he could enter the Everlasting Earth Palace without any obstacle. His only goal right now was to find Yong Ke. Now that he had confirmed what that familiarity with Emperor Weide was, he had strange ideas on Yong Ke. No matter what, he had to confirm his doubts. He wouldn't be able to stay in the dark on the matter any longer.
In the sky, the fight was absolutely apocalyptic. It was as violent if not more violent than what had happened in the Wubei Sect.
Now that Emperor Weide had fully opened his 'Domain of the Three Confluences', the Demon King himself was trying to fly away. However, to outsiders, he looked like he was not moving forward at all. His wings were moving frantically but he was still as close to the Emperor as before. For him though, it felt as though he had flown far away without any hindrance. When he looked back however, he saw Emperor Weide standing there, floating above the Everlasting Earth Palace.
"You...!"
"Did you think you could break out of my Domain? Not even a Sage can manifest a Domain, brat! If you had stayed in your place, you could have benefited so much. A character such as you would have been incredible for my armies. But you let your ambitions take over... This is just too sad."
"Do you think your kingdom will still praise you when they learn everything you had us do?! Because you used our hands doesn't mean that yours are not soiled with blood as well!"
"I am the Emperor. I am the backbone of the Hongchen Kingdom. I made the decisions no one would have been able to make. Thanks to me, our species might find the way to break free from the shackles of the current era. I will always protect the Hongchen Kingdom from ruin, that is my sole purpose. You were useful for a time, but your ambition is much more personal than mine. You could have become a great figure, a legitimate member of the Hongchen Kingdom, but you had to rule, didn't you?"
"I would die before remaining your slave, no matter how lofty you could have made my chains!"
Obviously, Emperor Weide's Domain was preventing anyone from hearing them talk. For decades if not centuries, Emperor Weide had used the demonic cultivators, allowing them to prosper. His goal had always been to find ways to help mankind grow stronger and fight the demons. However, the current Demon King had betrayed him just as Emperor Weide had found the way to become a Sage. That betrayal had been prompted by the discovery of Demon God Da Mo's library.
"Brat, don't you realize that someone has been pulling at your strings all along?! You did not find those documents by chance! My guess would be that Empyrean Asura is behind all of this. I wouldn't be too surprised to learn that he has his own spies among your men. Today I will obliterate you all! Try and resist as much as you can, I haven't been able to use this Domain fully until now. Amuse me!"
"You...!"
Demon King's eyes got filled with blood. Bloody tears flowed over his cheeks. But in the air around him, there were also bloody cracks appearing all over the place. It was as if he was trying to break space itself, or maybe just Emperor Weide's Domain. His wings also grew and grew until they encompassed a large part of this space. The 'Domain of the Three Confluences' wasn't physically visible, but anyone with spiritual senses could clearly feel it in the air. It was a huge sphere above the Everlasting Earth Palace.
Outside the Domain, the late Spirit Warriors were fighting the demonic cultivators. The fight was extremely violent, but the orthodox cultivators had the upper hand, especially now that the Demon King was busy with Emperor Weide.