Unconscious for a few minutes, Cao Yun finally woke up. His body was still covered in wounds and with blood. But most of it wasn't his own blood, it was the Blood Abyss. After the fight, the Blood Abyss had begun to recede back into the pits. There remained a layer of blood thick enough for someone to drown into if they lied down on their stomach. Cao Yun had fallen on his back but the blood of the Blood Abyss had splashed all over his skin. Although it had not healed him completely, it was good enough for him to try and stand up.

The young man was still completely naked but the thick dark blood was hiding most of his body anyway. In front of him was High Mother Qin Xue. Unlike him, she had fallen on her side and the Blood Abyss had already begun to consume her skin. Thankfully, her Wei Qi was still powerful despite her death. As such, her body was mostly intact apart from the side directly in contact with the Blood Abyss. Her left arm had lost most of its skin and all her clothes around the flesh was gone. No bone was visible yet, but the spectacle was gruesome. Besides, her stomach was split wide open after Cao Yun had plunged his hand in it to tear apart her innards.

Looking at her corpse, he focused his spiritual senses. Her Demon Soul had already left her body. Such a powerful demon could live a long time outside of her body. Letting her escape even in such a condition wasn't a good idea. He would need to do something about it, but now wasn't the right moment. After seeing the gruesome wound on her stomach, Cao Yun looked down at his hand. In it, he could still see and feel her Golden Fate. It had taken the shape of small lump of gold. And it contained all of her prenatal Jing. For cultivating, this would be even more useful than the demonic core of a 9-core demonic beast.

At his current level of cultivation, exterior resources weren't too important. Indeed, the third realm of cultivation was turned inward in both systems. Although he wasn't yet in the Embryo Realm, Cao Yun would soon attempt the Lesser Tribulation and become a Spirit Warrior. Once in this realm, one would focus on their Soul Embryo. Yes, he would need to feed it a little, but it would only be one small grade. Most of the grades were about slowly transporting the Soul Embryo into one's Upper Dantian in order to awaken it to the outside world.

On the other hand, the Conquering the Seven Demons realm of the asura system was clearly turned toward one's soul. As a matter of fact, Cao Yun had already been practicing it for some time. Pills could be useful, but raw materials and pure blood or Qi were of almost no significance. However, he could still use the Golden Fate to improve his body. To this day, Cao Yun was still following Chief Instructor Peng's advice. Even if cultivation slowly drifted away from the physical, tempering one's body as much as one could was a good idea, especially for a martial artist. Thus, he would use everything he could to gain even a tiny edge against other cultivators.

His first thought was to put the Golden Fate in his spatial ring. But he had none on it. However, High Mother Qin Xue had hers on her right hand. It levitated toward Cao Yun who grabbed it. Unfortunately, there weren't many useful things in it. That being said, he still took it and stored her Golden Fate in her own spatial ring. Besides, he also took out some clothe. Although he had no problem being naked, he had not forgotten about the ladies watching him from above. With spiritual senses, clothes were a bit useless, but still, there was some amount of decorum needed. Thus, he clad himself in some red robe.

Indeed, Sister Lisha and her fellow Sisters were watching, still completely stunned. They were observing High Mother Qin Xue's corpse being slowly devoured. In their astonishment, they had even failed to sense her Demon Soul leave her body. Even now, they were hoping for her to simply stand back up just as Cao Yun had done.

Moreover, seeing the young man stand up while he had still many holes in his flesh was disturbing as well. It felt as if a dead was coming back to life. But they could tell that he wasn't dead at all. In fact, it terrified them even more. But considering his current state, they could kill him without any problem. In their mind, they were unsure however. Thus, all the Sisters were waiting for Sister Lisha's decision. Now that High Mother Qin Xue was dead, she was the de facto leader of the Sisters of the Abyss.

Just like her fellow Sisters, Sister Lisha didn't know what to do. Cao Yun had clearly shown that he had some connection with their very god. Besides, she had hated High Mother Qin Xue's ways for a long time but had stayed quiet. Obviously, she felt both ashamed and guilty. However, she couldn't let her order fall like that. Deep down, she still believed in the ideals she had been presented when she first joined. Even if they had been perverted to some extent, she couldn't throw them away just like that.

Although he was lacking in strength, Cao Yun had to maintain the illusion that he was fine. He acted as though the Blood Abyss had completely healed him. The truth was that he wasn't sure whether he could even run away. If worse came to worst, he could still dive into the Blood Abyss for some time. Then, he would come out even stronger than before. He would become a plague for the Sisters of the Abyss. Unlike him, they couldn't do so. If they tried to dive into it, they would simply be consumed alive and later become his own fuel. That was also the reason why he had fought High Mother Qin Xue with so much abandon. He had a safe spot right below him. Thankfully, he didn't have to resort to that. Indeed, such a strategy would be too cowardly. But he would still have done so rather than being killed. He was proud, but he wasn't stupid.

Still speaking in perfect Antique Sixian, Cao Yun floated toward the Sisters, always ready to fall back and dive into the pits where all the Blood Abyss was receding into. With it, a large part of High Mother Qin Xue's blood was following. Although her flesh was mostly intact, her blood had left it completely through her wounds and had been mixed into the Blood Abyss. Things had come full circle. Her desire to feed the Blood Abyss had caused her to become its food. The irony wasn't lost on either Cao Yun nor Sister Lisha.

Stolen novel; please report.

"You are the new High Mother, I take it?"

In his voice, Cao Yun kept the intent of the Weaver of Souls. As such, she felt his words resonate deep in her very soul. Sister Lisha answered without even thinking.

"I guess so..."

"Let's take a look, shall we?"

Immediately, Sister Lisha, sensed Cao Yun's soul all around her. Before she could react, it had already entered her sea of consciousness. Unlike before, Cao Yun had fully developed his spiritual senses now that he had become an Accomplished Demon. As such, he could enter her sea of consciousness and even try to extract some memories. However, it was a delicate procedure. Most demons were even unable to do so because their souls were powerful but they lacked any subtlety with them. Of course, Cao Yun had been trained in the ways of humanity so he could have tried to do so. Besides, his time training with Dian Mo had taught him a lot through the art of seals. But this wasn't his point.

Instead of assaulting her soul, he tried to feel what she was feeling right now. On her face, he could already hazard a guess. Now that he was in her soul, he was certain of it. She was devastated by High Mother Qin Xue's death, but she was also relieved in some way. The sacrifices would end for good.

"I see, you stood by doing nothing while your High Mother was committing those terrible crimes. You knew it was wrong, but you didn't go against her wishes. Deep down, you even hoped that she was right and you would have been happy to reap the fruits of such a monstrous tree. Unfortunately for you, those sacrifices didn't do anything except causing pain and hastening the demise of your god's intent. Your High Mother will be remembered as the worst heretical criminal of your entire cult. But you can change things."

Cao Yun could have talked in her mind, but he didn't. He wanted all the Sisters to hear his words. With the intent of the Weaver of Souls and the current situation, his words shook them to their core and they believed every single syllable. Moreover, what Cao Yun was saying was indeed true and they knew it. But none would have said it out loud.

"You stood by doing nothing while crimes were being committed. But your High Mother's crimes weren't the only ones. Throughout your land, there are terrible crimes. I was foolish enough to think I could change it all. I can't. But you can! Maybe, not everything, but you know that you can make a difference. You can influence this land toward better ways. Or you can stay stuck in the old ways and keep still and silent while more and more girls and boys suffer injustice. What will you choose?"

Deep down, Cao Yun had a lot of rage. Even now, he still had a small voice in the back of his mind telling him to kill everyone. He could imagine the entire Oasis of Life turned dead. But he also had the images of Axiu Qian's wrath. By letting his emotions take over, he had become an absolute monster. Yes, killing the Sisters would appease the young man. He would even feel justified in those acts. But then, the situation would become worse for everyone else. Besides, he too had stood still while crimes were being committed around him. He could justify it by claiming his plans were for the greater good, but so could Sister Lisha.

"Choose now!"

Pouring everything he could in his words, he even used 'Sea of Blood' from 'Weeping Demon'. His eyes turned as red as the Blood Abyss. Considering the place they were in and the fight they had just witnessed, all the Sisters felt as though they had fallen into the Blood Abyss. A terrifying pressure was crushing their souls. All of them literally stopped breathing as they were waiting for Sister Lisha, no, High Mother Lisha's answer.

"I do wish to change things..."

"Good."

Before they could recover, Cao Yun planted seals into the seas of consciousness of all the Sisters. For the time being, they weren't too strong, but they would endure long enough for him to regain his full strength. After that, he could strengthen them. Thankfully, they were all practicing 'Abyssal Blood Veil Art'. As such, it was easier for Cao Yun to turn it against them. He used 'Crimson Web of Enslavement' to create his temporary seals. If they had resisted, he might have failed to do so because he was simply to weak. But his words had taken down all their defenses.

"I have no desire to take over your cult. In fact, I have no desire to rule or anything. I was swept into some political struggles and I despise it. However, this doesn't mean that I will turn a blind eye when I have the opportunity to help those who suffer. In the next few months, we will change your cult. Then, we will change the Desolate Sepulcher. Until then, I want you to completely close the Monastery of Bliss and Repose. Do so immediately. Activate all the defenses of your monastery and recall all of your Sisters, no matter how important their mission."

Without letting Sister Lisha any time to answer, Cao Yun floated back toward the ground. In his spatial ring, he took High Mother Qin Xue's corpse. Her Golden Body could be put to good use later on. Right now, Cao Yun's main concern was to heal himself. And he couldn't let the Sisters realize how weak he was. If he stayed even a few more seconds in the air, he would have simply fallen. In fact, before he reached the ground, his soul failed him. Thankfully, he was almost to the ground, but he did fall without anyone noticing it.

"Lisha, you have the opportunity to change your land for the better. If you listen to my orders, things will improve. But if you don't, I will take down your entire Monastery of Bliss and Repose. I will burn the Oasis of Life and cover the sand in the blood of your Sisters. Prove that your order deserves this second chance, or feel the wrath of the god you've already betrayed. You also betrayed the trust of the young girls you've let Qin Xue slaughter, do not betray all the young girls who still draw breath today!"

With those words, he dove into the pit. Cao Yun simply put the red robe back into the spatial ring. But he had no fear for the ring. Now, the Blood Abyss was not a danger for him at all. And indeed, it didn't attack the spatial ring. That being said, the Blood Abyss was good for Cao Yun to recover, but it couldn't improve his cultivation but marginally.

All the Sisters looked at High Mother Lisha, unable to speak. For several minutes, there was complete silence in the chambers while the Monastery of Bliss and Repose was more active than ever. The Sisters who had evacuated the chambers of the Blood Abyss had obviously warned everyone else.

"Close the monastery!"

After some hesitation, Sister Lisha had made up her mind. She would listen to Cao Yun for the time being. Truth be told, the seal Cao Yun had put in her soul didn't affect her decision at all. She could tell that he had been so weak that she could probably destroy the seal through sheer will. But his words and the conviction in his eyes had made her falter. Maybe he could help her change the world for the better. This time, she couldn't do nothing. She felt compelled to at least listen to him and try this out.

She also knew one reason why Cao Yun had asked to close the monastery. High Mother Qin Xue's Demon Soul had escaped her corpse. They couldn't let her leave.