In Duma City, almost two years had passed since Cao Yun had left for the Desolate Dune Desert. He had stayed with the nomad tribes for quite some time. Just after that, he had completely disappeared. Obviously, he was being kept prisoner by the Sisters of the Abyss. Or rather, he had been sacrificed to their Blood Abyss. However, contrary to their expectations, he had not been entirely consumed by the potent blood of their god. In fact, the opposite was happening as Cao Yun was using said blood to improve his cultivation. That being said, absolutely no one knew about this. Only a few even knew that he had been captured by the Sisters of the Abyss. Among those few were Boss Gui and Lady Weiji Nian.
Boss Gui had several spies all over the Nalupu Kingdom. But she had no spy within the Monastery of Bliss and Repose. However, she had spies among City Lord Sihe's servants. And most likely, he had spies around her too. In fact, she knew of a handful of them so she was using them to send false information to City Lord Sihe, or to confuse him by mixing truth and falsehood. Of course, he was probably doing the same. But in this particular instance, he had been more than happy to make sure that she knew about her recent partner's demise.
And indeed, it had been quite a blow to her. After all, he had not been able to perfect her training regimen. However, he had made some improvements. And even without Cao Yun's presence, Dan Yao and Nie Pian were managing Blazing Swallow. This boy Dan Yao had proved himself again and again. All the pill recipes Cao Yun had taught had been mastered by him. In fact, because his master had disappeared, Dan Yao worked even harder and harder. By now, he was recognized as the youngest alchemy genius. That being said, his talents were limited when it came to other pills. Thus, he was always working to live up to everyone's expectations.
Strangely enough, the very alchemists he had taught Cao Yun's pills to were then teaching him about the basics he didn't know. In fact, while he was officially their teacher and their superior, he was also their student. As such, he had dozens of incredible teachers, all proficient in different parts of alchemy. Soon, he would truly become a genius in many areas. Besides, unlike them, he had no arrogance for he knew his own limitations. Dan Yao would never stop to learn all his life and he would forge his own legend while always feeling like a novice. This very attitude would be the reason of his success.
Boss Gui was a very good judge of character. After Cao Yun's demise, she could have cut all ties with Blazing Swallow. At that point, Weiji Nian would have surely either bought or destroyed this company, or both. After all, she hated Cao Yun with a passion. However, Boss Gui still saw through Dan Yao's worth. Moreover, even without Xixue, Nie Pian was a very good manager. After his stupid mistakes, he had apparently learned his lesson. In truth, he really hadn't but he was forced to go through Dan Yao and even several others before validating any decision. As such, his stupid ones were all discarded. On the other hand, his honest decisions were all excellent. It was a shame that such a talented man had to be so corrupt and dishonest. But then again, both were so ingrained in him that it was hard to separate them. Because he was so ingenious, he thought he could escape any consequence. And because he had such dishonest ideas, he had to be very smart and ingenious not to get caught.
During these almost two years, Boss Gui's business had kept flourishing. At least, it had for the first year or so. Then, City Lord Sihe became much more aggressive. He tried to enslave even more people than what he was used to. And his slave warriors had become better. Thankfully for Boss Gui, they were not as good as hers, but there were so many of them that he was flooding the market. In fact, some were even bought within the Desolate Sepulcher. Until now, this slave trade had been limited to selling them to the main continent. Keeping demons enslaved by force within the Desolate Sepulcher seemed preposterous. Indeed, every law and religious precept forbade such deeds. As long as the slaves were sold far away, the Nalupu Kingdom could turn a blind eye.
Despite this progressive change, Lord Wanghuo didn't seem to care at all. This was to be expected. After all, this man wasn't a very good politician. At heart, he was a brute and a fighter. The only reason why he ruled was because he was so damn strong and powerful. But more and more people were voicing their complaints. After all, some were worried that one day they might be enslaved without a cause. Selling oneself or one's family was fine for most but being forcibly enslaved while having committed no crime was unthinkable. On the other hand, as long as it was limited to the nomad tribes, no one would really fight against it. They simply voiced their concern but still lived their life as if nothing was going on.
-
In the Weiji residence, Weiji Nian was kneeling in front of her uncle. While she was dressed in rich clothing, he was clad in red and black armor. He even had his helmet on. All over his armor, there were many engravings, some characters and a lot of images. There were skulls and images of broken bodies, severed limbs and heads. His armor was a representation of his deeds on the battlefield. As such, it was still covered in blood in several places. However, there was no trace of dirt or mud. After all, Marshal Weiji was a 5th-grade Accomplished Demon who could fly above the battlefields.
"Dear niece, if I hadn't loved my sister so much, I would strike you down right here and right now! How could you be so stupid?! Do you realize how many of my own men I had to kill to hide your plot?! Forging my seal on an official document?!"
"But, uncle, ..."
Seeing her raise a complaint, Marshal Weiji couldn't contain himself and slapped her. Although she was also an Accomplished Demon, Marshal Weiji was way above her. Besides, he was a fighter unlike her. The slap echoed throughout the residence and the walls even shook. Weiji Nian's face was reddened and tears began to flow. Being hit by her own family made her feel so indignant.
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"If I hadn't proved myself so hard to Lord Wanghuo, he would have had both of our heads chopped off. And you still want to defend yourself?! When it comes to your son, you lose all common sense. For the Weaver's sake, we took care of that Mo Yun! You simply had to wait! And you just couldn't! You almost threw your son's life away too, you do realize that, right?"
Weiji Nian's tears kept flowing but for another reason. She did realize her mistake. Thus, she immediately kowtowed and banged her head on the solid ground.
"Uncle, I was wrong! This unfilial one is full of remorse. This unfilial one forgot the bonds of her blood. When our son is concerned, we lose sight of everything else..."
"Good. At least, you're not an animal and you're able to acknowledge your mistakes. I'll still ask your husband to keep an eye on you. Thankfully, your crime isn't too serious. After all, we've been able to turn in around on this Mo Yun. In fact, City Lord Sihe even found a way to blame Boss Gui for such heresy. There are rumors everywhere that she is using poison. But I still had to help City Lord Sihe slaughter many nomads because of your stupidity. However, it's true that we do control them now, mostly..."
Marshal Weiji's voice had small peaks of anger but he was gradually calming down. As his calm was coming back, he watched his niece's cheek and felt terrible. This had been the first time he had struck her. Although she had committed a heinous crime, she was still his family. And thankfully, no one knew that she was the one behind the poison used against the Sand Wolves Tribe's settlement. In fact, most people thought it had been done by Boss Gui and Mo Yun. And his disappearance didn't help the rumors at all.
Obviously, the Sisters of the Abyss knew the truth and City Lord Sihe had to make sure that they didn't spill it. As such, he had been forced to pay them a lot, and not only with money.
-
"High Mother, the new slave girls have arrived."
Sister Lisha was kneeling in front of High Mother Qin Xue within the Motherly Hall. There were several other sisters on both sides of the steps leading to the High Mother.
"How are they faring?"
"City Lord Sihe did choose them well. Most can become great Sisters of our order. In fact, I am pretty certain a few have the potential to become Mothers."
Although she could on the faces of the Mothers and Senior Mothers that they weren't too pleased with such an evaluation, no one would dare speak out of turn in front of High Mother Qin Xue, even less so in her own Motherly Hall.
"Good. And the other ones?"
High Mother Qin Xue didn't seem to really care about those girls. In fact, she was much more interested in the other girls, those who would not become sisters. Even though the question wasn't asked directly, Sister Lisha knew perfectly well what High Mother Qin Xue was asking. As much as it disgusted her, she also knew that this was essential for the survival of their order and the preservation of their god's blood. Sacrifices were necessary to maintain the Weaver of Souls' blood. Hopefully, they might even bring him back. After all, it was said that an Immortal Demon could be reborn from a single drop of blood and the Weaver of Souls had been on the brink of breaking through to this realm when he died. There was hope for a half-step Immortal Demon too.
"Their bloodlines are not too shabby. They've already started to learn our 'Abyssal Blood Veil Art'. Some have almost no talent and we'll teach them the 'Devouring Abyssal Embrace' path right away. As for a third of them, they could push it further. I do think we should wait a little before leading them down this road. That way their bloodline will be pure enough to be worthy of the Blood Abyss."
"How far do you think they could go?"
"I can't be sure of anything, but some of them are as talented as Xixue, maybe even more."
"Fine, we'll prepare the worthless ones first. They will have the honor of feeding our god. Although their lives amounted to nothing, their deaths will prove beyond what they could ever imagine."
"High Mother, is a sacrifice necessary so soon after..."
"Of course it is! I had hopes for this Mo Yun. You had told me how incredible his bloodline was. And honestly, I too was duped. But he barely even improved the quality of the Blood Abyss. Maybe it was because he was male. After all, Weaver of Souls was male too. Maybe there was some clash between his bloodline and the Blood Abyss so his bloodline was eradicated rather than absorbed. What a waste! How long will it take for Xixue to be ready?"
-
Xixue was practicing with her sister Yinlü. The two sisters were working alone. They were almost identical, but Yinlü could be more easily recognized thanks to the fire in her eyes. Unlike Xixue, she was completely converted to the religion of the Sisters of the Abyss. She was a faithful follower of the Weaver of Soul. Xixue lacked this fanaticism. However, she had decided to stay within the Monastery of Bliss and Repose to remain with her sister. To be fair, she didn't really have any choice, but she had never once attempted to flee.
The two of them were sparring. In fact, it wasn't really sparring, everything was choreographed. Indeed, they were practicing the 'Abyssal Blood Veil Art'. That was the main martial art and cultivation method of the Sisters of the Abyss. Until now, no one outside of the Sisters had even been able to get access to the first level of this art, 'Veil of Crimson Initiation'. And no one knew about the two paths this art could take.
While Yinlü was practicing the 'Crimson Pact of Subjugation' path, Xixue was on the 'Devouring Abyssal Embrace' path. The cultivation was very similar at first, but it became increasingly different. At Xixue's current stage, she needed a partner to develop her 'Devouring Abyssal Embrace'. And Yinlü was perfect because they were sisters. By practicing with her, their bloodlines were in harmony and their results were enhanced. Most likely, Yinlü was gaining more than Xixue.
"Sister, you've progressed a lot. In a few months, maybe a year, you'll finally be ready to showcase the full mastery of your 'Devouring Abyssal Embrace'. The ceremony will be great. That day, you will finally realize the greatness of the Weaver of Souls. I know you're only staying for me, but I am certain that this ceremony will open your eyes to the truth."
"I guess..."
After some heated debates between the two, Xixue had mostly decided to keep her thoughts for herself. Besides, there was always something dangerous in her sister's eyes when she talked about that 'Devouring Abyssal Embrace' ceremony.
Maybe, just maybe, Xixue regretted having her sister back. If she had simply been dead, she would have mourned and moved on. But because she was alive, Xixue was trapped. She longed for her time with Cao Yun. And she had no idea where he was. Hopefully, he hadn't been stupid enough to come here. After spending enough time around the Sisters, she knew for a fact that he would have been killed in an instant. Against Sister Lisha, let alone High Mother Qin Xue, he wouldn't stand a chance. He would be like a fly in a spider's net.
Hopefully, he was fine and far away from the Monastery of Bliss and Repose.