After the great fight between Cao Yun and Yun Ping, both had become true legends in the Wubei Sect. People of the Northern Purple Clouds were even wondering whether they should make Yun Ping their new faction leader. According to Long Jian, his sister Long Huafang should take over the faction after leaving the Ancient Ruins. She had entered as a 7th-grade Mortal, so even if she were very lucky, she would fall short of breaking through to the Mortal Warrior realm. However, it was clear that she was younger than Yun Ping and her martial arts were also better.
Those talks stopped fairly fast when Yun Ping officially stated that he did not want such a responsibility. He was quite happy with being free.
Then, Yun Ping went to see Cao Yun in his own chambers at the end of the day. Kang Cai opened the door and invited him in as though she was expecting him.
"My young master told me that you may come. He is still meditating for now, but I'll tell him that you are here. I am sure he will be happy to talk with you."
The young girl gave no time to Yun Ping who was about to say that this wasn't necessary to disturb him. In fact, Cao Yun had expressly asked her to call for him if Yun Ping were to visit. After fighting him, and considering that he had warned him about his cultivation, Cao yun knew that the young man would probably come to talk. As he wasn't cultivating, but just meditating, disturbing him wasn't such a big deal. The young boy was overjoyed to hear about the news. First of all, it meant that he had been right about Yun Ping's personality. But it also meant that he had someone to talk to about martial arts. His friends in the sect were great, but Cao Yun had found no peer to really converse about spearmanship and martial arts in general.
Even Long Huafang who was crazy about fighting didn't really care about such talks. But Cao Yun had seen something in Yun Ping's eyes. Maybe they were kindred spirits. Or at least, he hoped so.
"Brother Yun!"
Cao Yun left his room and saluted his former opponent. The welcome was so warm that Yun Ping felt kinda bad. During their first meeting, he had been extremely rude. And that was precisely the reason of his presence. Immediately, he stood up from his chair and bowed very low.
"Brother Chen, this arrogant one apologizes to you."
While laughing heartily, Cao Yun helped him up.
"No need for that, Brother. I know you were just trying to force me to challenge you since you couldn't challenge me yourself. And after our fight, are we still strangers to one another? Come on, sit down. Let's talk."
At first, Yun Ping was still pretty awkward. But as both men started to talk about spearmanship and martial arts, they got so passionate that everything else disappeared. Around them, Kang Cai was smiling coyly while pouring some wine for them. Before they realized it, the sun had risen again.
-
Exceptionally, the chief elders had all been called by the Sect Leader on top of the Heidai Peak. Xiao Xuefeng was also present. The atmosphere was so tense that not one of them dared to speak. Although they ignored the reason of such a meeting, it was clear that this wasn't to announce a pleasant news. They had been asked to abandon everything else in order to come here. Moreover, both outer and inner chief elders were present. Gathering them all at the same time was so rare that it had not happened for almost a century.
From behind his curtain, the voice of the Sect Leader resounded.
"I received news from the Imperial City. There are threats of a demonic beasts stampede all over our Hongchen Kingdom."
Well, the news wasn't so bad... Demonic beasts stampede was sadly a phenomenon that happened from time to time. Hearing the news, many chief elders heaved a sigh of relief. They had just been gathered to plan how they could go help some unfortunate province with this problem. Among them though, some were not so relieved. And Xiao Xuefeng was one of them. Chief Elder Yisheng from the demonic beasts pavilion was the first one to ask the question they had all on their mind.
"Sect Leader, whose province is threatened?"
"There is not only one province. Eight of them are threatened!" Right away, they all understood how dire the situation was. The Hongchen Kingdom was divided into twenty-one provinces. And right now, almost half of them were threatened. Moreover, there were several provinces still under threat by the demons outside of their borders. Those provinces could not help out as they had to keep their soldiers to defend against invasions. That meant that many of the best fighters could not be sent to protect those eight provinces.
"The Huang family has been the first one to notice the problem. A 9-core demonic beast has appeared there and riled up the demonic beasts. Apparently they killed it but another one seems to have appeared later on. Since then, many other incidents have been reported. Among the major targets, the Imperial City has reported two 9-core demonic beasts, the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute one of them, the Ten Thousand Rivers Monastery as well as the School of the Celestial Goddess both saw one of them too. And just now, Chief Elder Luoming reported the presence of two other 9-core demonic beasts getting closer and closer to the Heidai Peak."
All eyes went on Chief Elder Luoming.
"I could not identify them, but I clearly felt their aura. There is no doubt, both of them are 9-core demonic beasts. And they were both moving toward our Wubei Sect. I suspect that they will reach us in less than a month."
"You now understand the severity of the situation. In all, including the one that's been killed by the Huang family, nine 9-core demonic beasts have suddenly appeared all over the kingdom. Moreover, many 8-core and 7-core demonic beasts have also been spotted in several locations. We'll need to dispatch many people everywhere. But we still need to protect our own Wubei Sect. As such, I will stay here to keep guard over our sect. Obviously, Spirit Master Xiao will go back to her Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute to help them out. And now I ask, who among you volunteers to help out our brothers and sisters?"
As one man, all the chief elders walked forward. "This humble one volunteers, Sect Leader."
For a few hours, they talked about who would stay, who would leave and where, and about how they would organize their defense.
-
The news of the upcoming stampede spread quickly, not just in the Wubei Sect, but almost everywhere. There were only three 9th-grade Spirit Warriors in the Hongchen Kingdom and coincidentally, they were in the provinces threatened by two 9-core demonic beasts. They were Matriarch Huang Yufeng, Sect Leader Xuan and Emperor Weide. For many people, this wasn't just a coincidence. Someone was behind this sudden threat. But were they demons or demonic cultivators? The idea that a rebel group may be behind it crossed the minds of some but it was soon discarded. This was an existential threat to humankind, not just an attempted coup against the Emperor.
The Hongchen Kingdom was always threatened by demons on the outside, and now they were going to face an unprecedented stampede on the inside. Of course, they would probably be able to resist, but this would weaken them for some time. What if some demons were to launch an invasion at the very same time, or soon after?
Anyway, the 9th-grade Spirit Warriors, who were the only humans able to contend with a 9-core demonic beast alone and without any external means, stayed in their respective provinces to fend them off. On the other hand, many experts were dispatched everywhere. Against 9-core demonic beasts, or even weaker creatures, human cultivators could still use many techniques. Among them were battle formations. They were similar to array formations but consisted of several people fighting together in a specific way to enhance their collective strength. Even middle Spirit Warriors could fight against a 9-core demonic beast if they were numerous enough and were using the right battle formation.
-
In the Wubei Sect, Xiao Xuefeng was holding an improvised meeting with Mei Hua and her friends, Cao Yun, Sun Liao and Ren Chao.
"Mei Hua, I'm going back to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute this very day. Will you accompany me or not? The recent events must have been tough on you, but I do think that it would be beneficial to come with me. And I know that Director Ge would allow you to view our manuals and even use our facilities for some time. Even though you cannot reach the Human rank in your alchemy until you've become a Mortal Warrior, this would greatly enhance your abilities. Moreover, you'll be able to discuss with many of our disciples." Then, the alchemist looked over at Cao Yun for an instant. "Among them is Feng Yingyue. She's the most talented alchemist of her generation, without any doubt possible. In fact, she's even more talented than all the current alchemists when they had her age."
Hearing this brought many memories back to Cao Yun. It had been more than a year since he had last seen this woman, his woman. Thinking back about her, the last night they had shared together came to mind and he looked away a bit embarrassed. All his life, he had been protected within his family and he wasn't used to this kind of intimacy.
Seeing this, Ren Chao saw the opportunity to get revenge on the teasing he had suffered because of his relationship with Wang Mei. Thus, he put his arm around Cao Yun's shoulders.
"Brother, what did you just think about to make you so red? Ha ha ha!"
"Brother Ren, I think he thought about something you have yet to do with your Wang Mei." Sun Liao did not come to the rescue of Cao Yun. Instead, he saw his chance to torment both his friends.
Despite his lack of experience, Ren Chao understood right away what his friend meant. But it turned out that that wasn't at all what he had thought about at first. Thus, his view of Cao Yun changed completely.
"Brother Chen, you... You've really...?!"
On the side, Mei Hua and Xiao Xuefeng looked at them with a bit of amusement. Mei Hua was shaking her head hopelessly.
"No wonder you've left me behind with those spiders... You're all too busy chasing women!" The anger in Mei Hua's voice was clearly fake. She just wanted to partake in the fun a little.
"Sister, I swear that my feelings for Wang Mei are pure! And I'm sure Sun Liao feels the same for Long Huafang." The big man looked at the calm Sun Liao with a huge grin on his face.
"What does she have to do with anything?! We have no such relationship between us!"
"Oh? Should I tell her that you would rather have another woman by your side when she leaves the Ancient Ruins?"
The four friends kept teasing each other for some time and Xiao Xuefeng did not stop them at all. After they've had their laugh, they went back to more serious matters. And Mei Hua answered to the alchemist.
"Master, I will come with you! I feel like I'm stagnating recently. And our hunt showed me that I'm not much of a hunter neither. If my alchemy had been better, I would have detected the presence of Burrowing Deadly Typha's poison in the air."
"Good. Chen Guo? You may come with me as well. I'm sure that Feng Yingyue would be happy to see you back. But I have some news to tell you first. Our Institute is threatened but so are the Wu and Meifen Provinces. The Huang family should be able to take care of their province since their matriarch has broken through to the 9th-grade Spirit Warrior stage. However, the Meifen Province has not a lot of great fighters. Furthermore, the demonic beasts seem to go directly toward Yinmen City."
Hearing all of this, Cao Yun thought back about his first visit to Yinmen City. City Lord Dun Mofan had helped him a lot. His mind cultivation had literally come from him. Even though he was a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, a stampede was a terrible threat. Hundreds of weak demonic beasts, if not more, could kill even a powerful cultivator. And he would not just have to fight them, he would have to protect his city as well.
"We're still organizing the evacuation but we cannot know if everything will be over in time for the stampede. Those things are unpredictable in nature. A small group of our disciples will be sent to help relieve some tensions for the Meifen Province and their destination is Yinmen City. Since I know your history with that city, I ask you. Do you wish to accompany me toward the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute? Or do you wish to go to Yinmen City to help them out?"
For a long time, there was a silence over the entire group while Cao Yun was taking his decision. Deep down, he wanted to meet back with Feng Yingyue. If he didn't go to her now, he would have to wait at least two years since he would go to the Ancient Ruins. And Feng Yingyue could get busy preparing for the upcoming Alchemy Conference. In fact, he may be unable to meet with her before the five years they had talked about when they had parted ways.
But, on the other hand, many people may die if he wasn't there. Not that his presence was indispensable, but, without fake modesty, he was one of the strongest disciples right now. Cao Yun felt the Five Agents in his mind resonating with his thoughts, in particular Hun the Wood Ethereal Soul. This reminded him that he had vowed to himself that he would not act only for his own interests, but the greater good of mankind.
"Spirit Master Xiao, I will go to Yinmen City. May you please give a letter from me to Feng Yingyue?"
"Of course! I will depart when the sun will be at its highest in the sky. Bring your letter to me before that. You'll find me in the demonic beasts pavilion. There, the group sent to Yinmen City will be waiting as well. Mei Hua, you too. Get your things in order and meet me there. We have no idea of when we'll be able to come back to the Wubei Sect."