On those flags however, he was able to sense some of the killing intent exuding from the blood of demons. Looking at them even more carefully, he understood what they were. On the flags, there were runes traced with blood. In other words, they were very similar to the blood runes used by the demonic cultivators. That being said, they were a bit different. After all, the demonic cultivators had found about the blood runes in Demon God Da Mo's secret library. Most likely, demons had known about them for a longer time. And since they were more proficient in blood techniques, they had obviously developed them further.

With those blood runes, they were able to emulate the effects of array formations while violating some of the principles. In other words, they had created more powerful array formations thanks to this. Obviously, it intrigued Cao Yun. With his blood, he could clearly make blood runes. And the effects would be even better. He would have to learn what he could. Anything that could give him an edge against Traitor Weide was welcome.

For the time being, Cao Yun kept on watching the fight without any intention of intervening until it was truly time.

The beetle's stinger pierced through the throat of a demon wielding some kind of trident. With a sudden jerk, the woman was sent flying, leaving a flag with only one demon protecting it. But Golden Blood Children were tough to kill. Despite the gaping hole in her throat, the woman had survived. Her bones were strong enough that her spine had not been pierced. Still, her bones were fractured and her nerves had almost been cut off. Manipulating her blood, she would be able to heal fast. However, the fight was still ongoing.

Without any hesitation, she went back into the fray. If the demonic beast was not killed right now, running away wouldn't save anyone. Otherwise, all the demons would have escaped and fended for themselves. There was no loyalty between slavers.

From the sand, two large maws appeared. Those looked like big leeches covered in sand and black blood. In Cao Yun's eyes, those were clearly Qi Manifestations caused by the flow of blood within the demons. The two of them leapt toward the immobilized 7-core demonic beast. Then, several demons struck with their full strength toward it. Several Qi Manifestations appeared. No demon seemed to even have developed any kind of Martial Aura. They were clearly not proficient fighters. However, they were working well together to make up for it.

Unfortunately for them, the demonic beast was too resistant for them. When the attacks converged on it, the beast suddenly opened its back in full. Two large wings spread out. With them, a powerful gust of wind pushed back some of the demons. While they were confused, its stinger finally took down the flag with only one defender. After that, the demonic beast was free to move around again. Even though the flags were still causing an intense heat to strike it, the beast was able to break the glass around its own body. Once at least one of its legs was out, it was easy for it to break everything.

At that point, it could have flown away, but it wanted retribution and a good meal. Before the demons could all regain their composure, the horns of the demonic beast had cut a couple of them in half. Immediately, it rushed on them and devoured them, sucking their body dry in seconds. Then, its powerful shriek resonated all around. Instead of attacking the flags, the demonic beast was attacking the demons directly. Without them, the flags were no threat after all.

Brother Yaxue was a large man. Although he was a bit plump, he had an impressive stature hidden beneath the fat. Besides, he was almost as tall as Ren Chao. Wielding his scythe in hands, he struck down toward the beetle with all of his strong. His killing intent erupted all over the place. It looked like a praying mantis had appeared and was trying to slice the insect in many parts. Although its shell was impressive, many scars appeared on it. The beetle didn't take it without fighting back.

-

Cao Yun watched the fight unfold for several minutes. More than half of the demons were dead, partially devoured or dismembered. Some had also suffered from the acid ejected by the demonic beast's stinger. On the other hand, the 7-core demonic beast was covered in wounds and had started to lose some blood as well. Brother Yaxue was still alive and leading the fight. His fighting style was rather upsetting to Cao Yun. Indeed, he was clearly using the others as living shields.

Although he had no problem striking his enemy directly, he was always retreating after a significant blow in order to not put himself in danger. Each time, he was using the other demons to hide and protect himself. To be honest, his fighting style was rather cunning. And Cao Yun didn't like it at all. There was no problem with fighting smart and wounding an enemy until it was too tired to fight back. But using his own men as shields was another matter entirely.

Anyway, Yaxue was a demon after all, and a slaver at that. Cao Yun would not appreciate him no matter how he fought.

The flow of the battle was not easy to grasp. But at some point, Cao Yun grew convinced that the demons were going to get killed. Maybe they would take the demonic beast down with them. But in the end, they were simply not strong enough to kill it. Around the same time, that realization dawned on Yaxue as well. From this point forward, he was not trying to win, he was just trying to find a way of getting out of this alive, no matter the cost.

It was when Cao Yun sensed that desperation that he decided to act. Among the demons, only a handful was still alive. If he wanted to kill them himself, it would be easier considering their condition. On the other hand, the 7-core demonic beast was also too exhausted to put up much of a fight against him and Hongyu right now. In fact, Cao Yun was mostly convinced Hongyu didn't even need to assist him.

The main question was thus whether to kill the demons or not. Since he was stranded in this desert, he wasn't sure this was such a good idea. For the time being, what he needed was information. Of course, he could obtain it by torturing the demons. Without Dian Mo to extract memories out of them, this was the only way. But in an unknown land, another option was most likely preferable.

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At last, Cao Yun decided to reveal himself. Of course, his meridians would have to be hidden. But he would have to show his blood cultivation. Technically, he was only a 2nd-grade Golden Blood Child so he should have been weaker than all the demons taken individually. However, he had many trump cards and his cultivation was not limited to his blood cultivation. Besides, more than cultivation, what demons respected was both raw strength and bloodline. With the properties of the Drop of Wrath in his blood, Cao Yun's bloodline was almost as pure as a true asura. In other words, among demons, he could be considered a noble.

Still flying on Hongyu's back, Cao Yun did not let the demonic beast react. Before revealing his presence, he struck.

'Fish in the Galaxy'!

His 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' left his hand and pierced through the beetle's head. The weapon was surrounded by Cao Yun's aura. It appeared as a sharp scale piercing through the firmament. Without any effort, it pierced through the weakened beetle's defenses. When its head was struck, it exploded everywhere. As the spear landed, it broke the glass all around it and turned it back into sand.

Cao Yun's strength was absolutely domineering. In the eyes of the weakened and dying demons, he was like a god. For a moment, some even believed him to be an Accomplished Demon. After all, he could fly. Of course, they quickly realized that he was flying thanks to a mount. But that was still very impressive. Very few demons had a personal flying demonic beast. Besides, it seemed to be relatively strong as Hongyu had five cores.

In order to appear even more powerful, Cao Yun was also using Flying Poison around himself. Only an Accomplished Demon could do so, just like only Spirit Warriors had spiritual senses. Because the demons were exhausted, even Brother Yaxue was taken aback and didn't see through Cao Yun's cultivation. In his mind, he was convinced that Cao Yun was indeed an early Accomplished Demon. As such, he immediately bowed once he was confident the threat was dead. If they were to upset such a character, they would die just as surely.

"Senior, thank you for saving our miserable existences!"

"Thank you, Senior!"

With one voice, all the survivors, no matter how injured they were, kowtowed and thanked Cao Yun.

Landing, he retrieved his spear in his spatial ring. He had hesitated whether he should hide his spatial ring. But keeping it and even using it would further prove his status in front of the crowd. Although he had no idea how demons really behaved among each other, he decided to play it as an arrogant master.

"Who are you?"

His powerful voice was imbued with the will of the Drop of Wrath and a bit of mental attack. In front of such might, the weakened demons would not be able to hide anything to him. Besides, Cao Yun would immediately know if they were lying.

"Senior, we're just merchants. We were going back to Yixin City."

"And what do you sell?"

Obviously, Yaxue immediately thought that that senior was thinking about robbing them. After all, considering their current state, he could kill them in an instant and take what he wanted. Contrary to a demonic beast though, they could negotiate. Besides, killing them before they could sell their products would be stupid.

"Senior, we captured those slaves from a nearby tribe hiding in the desert. I am certain that they will fetch a good price. A few of them could even attract Lord Wanghuo's attention. Even if they're not chosen, they would be perfect for the Sisters of the Abyss, while the others will fetch a reasonable price in some brothel. Regarding the men, they'll be great miners, or soldiers for the stronger ones. I am sure that we could get at least two hundreds Heidai. Of course, such a sum is very little for Senior..."

"My name is Mo Yun."

Because he had already used many names, Cao Yun decided to stay rather simple and simply used Demon King's surname instead of his own. Although he was in a land far from the Hongchen Kingdom, he didn't want his true surname to spread, just in case. Besides, his surname might not be usual in those lands while Demon King Mo Wang had chosen a name common among demons. At least, it was common among the demons around the Hongchen Kingdom. Hopefully, it wasn't too strange in those parts either.

"Senior Mo, this lowly one is Yaxue from Yixin City. I swear on my ancestor's blood that we will repay your great generosity. You can take any of the slaves you fancy and we will sell the rest for you."

"I have no intention of stealing from you. Otherwise, you'd be dead already."

As soon as he spoke, Cao Yun felt that some demons were confused. In fact, they were suspecting that something wasn't right. Indeed, no Accomplished Demon around here would be so altruistic. Thus, Cao Yun had to add more.

"However, this demonic beast is mine. I've killed it and I claim its corpse and its demonic cores."

"Senior...!"

Before he could add any word, Yaxue stopped talking. He felt a powerful killing intent all around him.

"Without me, you'd all be dead and you couldn't enjoy the spoils of the battle either way. But if you think you can claim the beast, feel free to fight me for it. If you're able to take a single move without dying, I can give you one of the demonic cores. What say you?"

Of course, Cao Yun was bluffing by using his mental attack 'Weeping Demon' and his Flying Poison. But in front of the weakened demons who were convinced he was an Accomplished Demon, it was very effective. Yaxue had to swallow his pride and bowed even lower.

"This unworthy one thanks Senior Mo for his generosity. But no one would be able to take even a single one of your strikes."

"What a pity... Then, the spoils come to me."

In a swift motion, Cao Yun took the entire carcass of the demonic beast in his spatial ring. Even now, he had no idea what that demonic beast was. But he couldn't just ask the demons in front of him. By traveling with them, he might learn some things. But his best option was to get to a city and find some documents. Thankfully, he could both speak and read Moshenhua. And the demons had found no flaw in his accent or his dialect. That was good news at least.

"Yaxue, I've traveled quite a lot. Since your caravan is heading for Yixin City, I will accompany you on the road. Do you have any objection?"

"Of course not, Senior Mo. Your presence will be welcome. This will be a great honor for us to have you with us. Feel free to enjoy our slaves if you want to."

"No need for that. I have found some insights recently. I will be cultivating. Treat my mount with the same respect you would treat me or suffer my wrath. No one is to disturb me!"

With those words, Cao Yun entered one of the empty caravans. Considering the number of dead demons, all the caravans would not be used. As such, the slavers would leave Cao Yun alone for the entire travel. That being said, he really wasn't comfortable with the idea that there were slaves. Although they were demons, that didn't sit well with Cao Yun. All humans had learned of the treatment their kind had suffered in the hands of demons. The mere idea of slavery was absolutely disgusting for everyone in the Hongchen Kingdom. Cao Yun was no exception.

And after hearing Yaxue talk about those slaves as mere pieces of meat to be used and abused, he was more than upset. Unfortunately, he needed to find more about this place. And since this man was a merchant, he might be useful.