Cao Yun tried not to show it, but he was shocked by Xiao Xuefeng's words. All this time, he had lied about his name, afraid that demonic cultivators would find out he had survived. He still had no clue to figure out why they had slaughtered his family. And depending on the reason, they may mobilize another Spirit Warrior to kill him and his friends. Of course, he had antagonized them with Luduo Bu and Lu Meihan. But he had no way of knowing how they would react if they realized that a witness of their attack still lived.
Mobilizing all his mind cultivation, he answered. "Guest Elder Xiao, I think you're mistaken. It's true that I traveled near the Cao Family residence but I'm not a member of this family."
Xiao Xuefeng smiled a little. "'Chen Guo', I discussed with Grand Master Hua. I know everything that happened in Yinmen City. According to the timeline, you had to be close to the Cao Family residence right before their tragedy. But it is true that you could simply be a vagrant cultivator who happened to pass by. So I also searched for any mention of Chen Guo anywhere. No one matching neither your description nor your talent was ever seen. If my reasoning is correct, you should be a young member of the Cao Family. Then, I just had to look through the victims. Only one body was not found, Cao Yun's." She bent a little to get her face closer to his. "You're very good at lying. Even with my spiritual senses, I can't detect it. But I can also use my reason to see through it. You are Cao Yun, right?"
This time, Cao Yun really hesitated. After all, if she meant him any harm, she would just need to think about it and he would die on the spot. On the other hand, a demonic cultivator would simply kill him, probably, unless she wanted something from him. It was possible that they were looking for something when they killed his family and they may not have found it. Thousands of thoughts were crossing Cao Yun's mind. Thanks to his mind cultivation, he did not show any sign of doubt on his face.
"Cao Yun, this array formation cannot even be seen through with my own spiritual senses. No one in the entire Hongchen Kingdom will ever know what was said here. But if you still do not wish to tell..."
"I am Cao Yun." As soon as he spoke, a weight lifted from his shoulders. He had used a fake name for almost a year now, since he had met Feng Yingyue. Being able to use the name his parents had given him made him feel extremely nostalgic, and happy. All of a sudden, the faces of all his family erupted in his mind, just as if a dam had been broken.
Xiao Xuefeng smiled. "Your acting was good, but you let too many traces behind you." Indeed, Cao Yun became worried. He had not planned his fake identity very carefully as he had to improvise. But if Xiao Xuefeng could trace back his origin, other Spirit Warriors would probably be able to do so as well. And with the demonic cultivators he had crossed within the Wubei Sect, they could find out the truth. His lack of preparation may bring a calamity on him and his friends.
"Do not worry. I used the authority of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute to hide out your identity. We created a Chen Guo out of thin air and gave him a life of his own." She produced a small scroll and handed it over to Cao Yun. "My institute has connections within the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, forging an identity was rather easy. No amount of money will be able to unbind this knot. From now on, you really are Chen Guo. Read the contents of this scroll, this is your history."
Cao Yun took the scroll and started to read. It mentioned how he had lived in a small village but lost his family to an attack of demonic beasts before being taken in by vagrant cultivators who had recognized his talent. This Chen Guo had even been part of a very small sect for some time. In the end, he had a falling out with them and traveled to Baziyun City. He arrived before the tragedy of the Cao family and departed a few days prior to it. There were even names of shops and clerks he had met in the city. Unraveling all the lies within this biography would probably be difficult indeed. Most of the events he read about, he remembered from the reports he had had access to in City Lord Dun Mofan's study.
"Guest Elder Xiao, thank you." Cao Yun kowtowed sincerely to her.
"No need for that. You've done a tremendous service for all mankind by rooting out these traitors."
As he had read the contents of the paper, Cao Yun gave it back to her. A small spark left Xiao Xuefeng's fingertip and burned the whole thing.
"I feel ashamed... My task was to find out the reality of the demonic cultivators infestation within the Wubei Sect. You did more than me in that regard. However, you also put a target on you! As long as you're within the Wubei Sect, I will not leave, and I'll protect you. After all, I have a lot of mess to clean up and a report to give to the Sect Leader."
She took out another object, a small paper talisman with her name on it.
"Take this talisman. If you tear it or crush it, I'll know exactly where you are and I'll come rescue you. As long as you're within the Wubei Sect, it shouldn't take more than a minute. However, you should still be extremely careful. The demonic cultivators will probably lay low for a while. I understand that you want to avenge your family, but I'll be painfully honest. You're still too weak."
These words hit Cao Yun right in the heart, because he knew she was right.
"Guest Elder Xiao, thank you again. May I ask you something?"
"You want to know about your family? Of course. I wasn't there when the investigation was conducted but I asked my junior brother who was. I must admit that everything is rather peculiar. At first, the Huang family was in charge of the matter. However, some rumors stated that they were not impartial in this. People claimed that the Huang family was the one who gained the most from the Cao family's destruction."
"No! My great-grandfather had a very good relationship with the Huang family! We were even invited to one of their ceremonies."
"Indeed, this rumor seems pretty baseless. The Huang family's matriarch is a 8th-grade Spirit Warrior and they have several late Spirit Warriors among them. There's no way they could feel threatened by your Cao family with only one Spirit Warrior."
"Two!" Instinctively Cao Yun spoke. He lowered his head as he was remembering the night of the killings. "My father broke through to Spirit Warrior, just before..."
"I did hear that Cao Guang was a great hero. You're really taking after your father.
"What's strange is that despite such ridiculous and baseless rumors, the Imperial City dispatched people to investigate themselves. They were under the direct command of the Emperor in person. That in itself is extremely unusual. I don't think it ever happened for over seven hundred years."
"What does it mean?" Several possibilities came to Cao Yun's mind but he was afraid of the implications.
"I'm not too sure. Maybe, they were trying to hide either the real culprits or the reason of the attack. There was seemingly no reason for this attack. Even after the investigation, we have no answer concerning this matter. However, we did find the culprits."
Cao Yun stood up! "They were found?!"
"It was the Wolf Head Sect. Their hideout was raided and we found treasures from the Cao family within. We also found vials of blood from your family, and... well, various 'materials' from the deceased."
Cao Yun's fists were clenched so hard that he was almost drawing blood from his palms. Thanks to his mind cultivation, the Drop of Wrath was contained, but otherwise he would have lost his sanity. Demonic cultivators were known for using human parts in their cultivation. Some could refine weapons from human bones. Some drank human blood and ate human flesh. There were even stories of demonic cultivators consuming human souls.
Calling them 'demonic' was not just to discredit them. Their ways really were demoniac.
"However, I'm not too sure about this..."
"What do you mean?"
"The strongest cultivator, their leader, was only a 4th-grade Spirit Warrior. It's still possible for weaker cultivators to kill a stronger foe, but..."
"It's impossible!" Cao Yun was categoric. "My great-grandfather fought against their leader. He was at least a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior, I'm sure of it. They did not use any battle formation. No 4th-grade Spirit Warrior could have killed him alone!"
Xiao Xuefeng was deep in thought. "I had my suspicions, but this man was really the leader of the Wolf Head Sect, no doubt about that. So, either, they were lead by another demonic cultivator or another demonic sect was the real culprit... Well, there are other possibilities..."
Cao Yun was starting to sense dangerous secrets in Xiao Xuefeng's words. "Cao Yun, you might not know, but the demonic cultivators have become more and more active over the last couple of decades. And just as they were becoming a powerful threat to our kingdom, the demons all around our borders also became more active. Some people suspect that they are working together. The demonic cultivators would weaken us from within in order for the demons to deal a killing blow to our Hongchen Kingdom.
"Cao Yun, hiding your identity was a very good idea. It seems like the infestation and corruption of the demonic cultivators is wider than we initially thought. Even with my spiritual senses, detecting whether a Spirit Warrior is a demonic cultivator is as hard as reaching the heavens. And if they corrupt orthodox cultivators, without letting them cultivate the Evil path, finding them all out will be almost impossible." Xiao Xuefeng let out a heavy sigh. "The situation seems even more dire than I thought. If even the Wubei Sect is corrupted by a Spirit Warrior, it's very likely that the Imperial City itself has been infested.
"Our Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute will have to warn the Emperor. But he's very busy with the invasion attempts by the demons. And he's getting a bit old, right now..." As she thought out loud, Xiao Xuefeng interrupted her thoughts. "I'm sorry, Cao Yun. It seems like I can't answer all your questions. But I can assure you that we do care about your family and we'll help you to find out who killed them and why. However, for the time being, you should lay low. I can understand your frustration, but you can't do anything by yourself yet."
Sadly, Cao Yun had to admit that she was right. He had no clue whatsoever for now, except for the array formations that Sun Liao had seen. And since he couldn't leave the Wubei Sect during his first year, he could not investigate this Wolf Head Sect. When he entered the Wubei Sect, he had killed some former disciples from this demonic sect in the Lunar Marsh.
Moreover, if even the Imperial City was infiltrated by demonic cultivators, it was beyond what he had imagined. The Emperor was the most powerful cultivator in the entire Hongchen Kingdom after the Wubei Sect's Sect Leader. He was a late 9th-grade Spirit Warrior, at the very limit of this realm. For more than a thousand years he had reigned and was himself around 1,500 year-old. Cao Yun had heard his great-grandfather claim that the Emperor was almost ready to reach the fourth realm of cultivation.
The cultivation system described in the 'Universal Law of Immortality' exposed nine realms. However, for more than fourteen thousand years, no one had been able to cross over to the fourth realm. This era, just after the prosper Seven Treaties, Era was named the Forsaken Dao Era. No expert knew the reason for this decrease. There were many hypothesis. Even the demons seemed to have been afflicted with this phenomenon. Otherwise, they could have easily wiped out mankind and yet they had not.
In fact, no one even deigned to teach the entire 'Universal Law of Immortality' anymore. Only the first three realms were taught. Reaching the fourth realm was considered a thing of legend. Some people even put doubts on its real existence.
But with the bits and pieces from Cleansed Asura's memories, Cao Yun knew that this realm was real. The nine realms were real. Cleansed Asura had reached the middle of the eighth realm and was thus called a God-Monarch. And even an existence such as him had fallen...
"Cao Yun, I also wanted to ask you to take care of Mei Hua. She's hiding it very well, but she has a terrible past with demonic cultivators. Thankfully Mei Ying does not remember anything. I ask that you do not pry into it, please. Just as you're hiding things from your friends, they have the right to hide things from you. But, please, support her, just in case."
Finally, Xiao Xuefeng waved her hand and the door opened. Behind it, Kang Hai was waiting for Cao Yun.
"Young Master Chen, may I lead you back to your room?"
Cao Yun bowed down. "Thank you, Guest Elder Xiao. I'll remember your words." He then followed Kang Hai and went back to his room.
When he got back, he saw Huang Cixi who was cultivating. He decided not to disturb her and went to his own cultivation.
He went inside his sea of consciousness and observed the stars of the Azure Dragon. Around the three stars, the shape of this legendary beast was becoming increasingly clearer. He still had four stars to forge. The fourth one was the last of the easiest stars. He should be able to forge it in a few months. Given what Xiao Xuefeng had told him, he would focus on his cultivation and his martial arts until next year. During his second year, he could finally leave the Wubei Sect and he would have more opportunities.
He also felt his meridians and realized that he was really on his way to complete the 'The Turtle Swims Through the Canals' method. Huang Cixi had really taken good care of him during his coma.
Finally, he brought his attention to his mind. He circulated the Po character and was able to draw it eighty-seven times. Thanks to his new understanding of the Drop of Wrath, it stayed quiet during all his training. It was a matter of weeks before his Po character reached the Perfection stage.