Can Mouye's face was completely devoid of any emotion. For the very first time, Cao Yun saw him without his smile. That smile was a mask on his face. But beyond the mask, there was nothing. For as long as he could remember, Can Mouye had only been worried about his survival. And to achieve this goal, he had dulled down all his emotions. He was ready to do anything just to stay alive. But he had no other purpose. All the atrocities he had seen and committed himself had ended up eradicating the last vestiges of his humanity.
On his face, Cao Yun only saw one thing. In the eyes of Can Mouye, the young man in front of him was already dead. There was not even a tinge of rage. Even faced with other demonic cultivators, Cao Yun had always seen them as humans who had followed the wrong path. Some were deranged and did not care for others. But they all had human emotions. In fact, those very emotions were the cause of their insanity. However, Can Mouye was completely empty inside.
His true face was only visible an instant. Just as soon, his fake smile returned.
"Cao Yun."
Immediately, Cao Yun's eyes bulged. That demonic cultivator knew his name. That was to be expected since he was the disciple of the fake Cleansed Asura. But still, hearing his enemy utter his real name had a great impact on him.
"If only you had accepted your death back then... Because you tried to run, both those Mountain Fenghuangs are dead now." Can Mouye looked at the destroyed skeleton of Huang'er. "Then, you even implicated that poor Huang Liyue. Without you, she might have had a chance of surviving this place. And because you chose to come to Yinmen City, all your friends are going to die there. I have to tell you something. All of this is your fault. Yinmen City was not even supposed to be hit by the demonic beasts stampede. But we knew that you would come to protect this small city that no one else would care about.
"So in a sense, all the people who are going to die are on you. Because you opposed our plan in the Wubei Sect, your friends will be devoured alive. So why do you keep resisting? Just accept your fate and no one else has to suffer. As a beast tamer, I can make sure that the stampede won't affect Yinmen City. And I can even guarantee that your death will be painless. Please, stop being so stubborn."
"You always seem so polite and composed... But I will have to decline your 'generous' effort!"
There was obviously no way to know whether Can Mouye could really stop the stampede or if he would respect his word. Besides, it was possible that the stampede had already began, or had even already ended.
Strangely enough, these words from Can Mouye made Cao Yun happy. That meant several things. The first one was the most obvious. Cao Yun had hindered the demonic cultivators in the Wubei Sect so much that they had crafted this plan just to kill him. They were ready to annihilate a city and probably divert some of the stampede just for him. Although it wasn't a good thing per se, it meant that he had truly made a difference. He had made them worry enough to risk the life of a demonic cultivator about to reach Spirit Warrior. Even for orthodox cultivators, Spirit Warriors were important. But for demonic cultivators, they had to be extremely rare. Yet, they had sent Can Mouye in person to kill Cao Yun. Thinking about the fact that he had become a thorn in their side made him feel good.
He didn't feel so good about the fact that he had put his friends in harm's way though. Until now he had hidden his name so that the demonic cultivators would not know he had survived, for fear that they would go after him with all their might. Well, it turned out that his fear had come true even without exposing his secret. So in the end, did he really need to keep it a secret any longer? After all, he had the support of the Wubei Sect and Xiao Xuefeng with him. Those considerations would have to wait for the time being though.
The fact that Can Mouye was trying to intimidate him meant something else. Although he was making a lot of efforts to hide it, Cao Yun's attack should have had a huge impact on his body. If it had been enough to take him out of the Lesser Tribulation, even his internal organs should be in a dire condition. Without spiritual senses, Cao Yun could not be sure but he was able to get a few hints from what he was seeing right now. Can Mouye's control over his emotions, or his lack of emotions altogether, made him difficult to read. As a 5-star Earth alchemist, Cao Yun still had very faint notions of medicine. Thanks to them, he was able to detect some clear marks of pain.
And the mere fact that the demonic cultivator had not attacked him already was a testimony to his current weakness. As they were speaking, Can Mouye was probably even trying to get his chaotic Qi under control, especially his Evil Qi. Thanks to his sensitivity to it, Cao Yun was able to feel that the Evil Qi around Can Mouye was indeed behaving in erratic manners, even more so than it was supposed to.
There was no doubt in his mind that Can Mouye had almost died just now. But that didn't mean that Cao Yun had a chance of winning. After all, the difference between a 9th-grade Mortal and a 7th-grade Mortal Warrior amounted to almost an entire realm! No matter how talented Cao Yun was, he had no way to contend seriously with such an opponent by himself. However, depending on the severity of his wounds, he might have some opportunities. Moreover, Can Mouye did not know that Cao Yun could almost resist Evil Qi as well as pure Qi. The very corrosion of Evil Qi that could terrorize even demonic cultivators was not a problem for him with his control of the Drop of Wrath.
In a few breaths, Cao Yun analyzed the entirety of the situation. He had to be quick. For every moment passing by, Can Mouye was slowly recovering from his internal chaos. And because he wasn't sure how much damage he had sustained, Cao Yun could not allow him to get any better. Right now, he truly didn't have the luxury of being undecided. Thankfully, he wasn't!
Huang Liyue's body had been blown away earlier. With as much discretion as he could, Cao Yun tried to see how she was doing. Without spiritual senses, it was difficult to be sure. But she seemed to slowly regain her strength. At least, her breathing had clearly improved. Even her skin was getting better. A mortal could have seen it with the naked eye. Still, Cao Yun had no way to be sure how soon she would wake up and how much strength she would be able to muster. Right now, he had to gain as much time as possible. Hopefully, he would even be able to beat Can Mouye, but that was very unlikely.
He didn't want to kill him though as he probably knew a lot of things concerning the demonic cultivators. And from what he had said, all of his seals had been destroyed by his new master. For once, Cao Yun had a real chance of interrogating a demonic cultivator who had valuable information. He could not let this opportunity pass him by.
"You know my name, but I still don't know yours."
"Indeed, please excuse me. I am called Can Mouye. Now, can you die in peace?"
"Unfortunately, I don't think I can. But since you're so adamant about taking my life, may I suggest you something?"
"Of course, go ahead."
While discussing so cordially, Cao Yun took out the egg still in his robe and sent it toward Huang Liyue farther behind him. It really was difficult for him to part with it, but he couldn't fight while protecting it. Thankfully, Huang Liyue was in a spot where no rock had fallen. Hopefully, it would stay that way long enough. After all, a fight between Cao Yun and Can Mouye should be real fast...
"Let's fight fair and square."
After saying that, Cao Yun cupped his fists and bowed to his opponent. Deep in his heart, he had no respect for his opponent, but he was trying to direct his attention toward him alone.
Of course, Can Mouye was not an idiot. But since his sole goal was to kill Cao Yun, he didn't mind. No matter how injured he was, this boy should not be a threat. The only thing he was worried was that he would flee again. With Huang Liyue and the egg safe in the cave, there was no way he would flee. That boy was a bit too sentimental after all. Attacking or even killing them would maybe enrage him, but it would also get rid of the only reasons he had to stay and fight. Thus, those were not viable options right now.
With this train of thought, Can Mouye reciprocated the salute.
"I am fine with this."
Looking down, Can Mouye saw 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' stabbed in the ground. The shaft of the spear had partially been corroded by the Yellow Sorrows Water. For now, the weapon itself was still intact but it had clearly been weakened by the corrosion. With his eyes, Cao Yun was also able to see the damage. However, he had not seen the damage to the blade yet. And he suspected that it was way worse... The shaft had been forged using a scale of an Ebony Snake Dragon. Although it wasn't a very powerful demonic beast, it was known to have durable scales. If the shaft had endured that amount of damage, one could imagine the condition of the blade itself. But it was still stabbed in the ground for now.
"Since you don't have a weapon, we'll both fight bare handed."
That gave the full advantage to Can Mouye. His best martial art was 'Tianfomo's Compassion' which was a palm art. Besides, as a 7th-grade Mortal Warrior, his physique was way more developed than Cao Yun's. Without a weapon, Cao Yun would be hard pressed to cross that gap. Furthermore, unlike Can Mouye, the boy's martial arts required a weapon. In the absence of his spear, his might would be greatly diminished. Finally, the cave was now full of dust due to the tremors and the intermittent fall of rocks. Hence, there was a lot of Evil Qi in the air. Not only would it further weaken the orthodox cultivator, it would strengthen Can Mouye. And because he was injured, he would prefer to not use his own Evil Qi. The situation was perfect for him.
'Three Steps to Cross the World'.
'Dragon's Heart'. 'Cutting the Retreat'.
In an instant, Can Mouye appeared behind Cao Yun. But he was alert enough to notice his movement and reacted immediately. This move from 'Dance of Slaughter' was not as good, but it turned out to be way better than it used to. With Cao Yun's new control over the Drop of Wrath, his mastery over this punching routine had greatly increased, and so did its effects. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough to surpass Can Mouye.
It was sufficient however for Cao Yun to position himself for what was to come.
'Shadow Heart Palm'.
In front of his eyes, there was now a palm as wide as a wall. It was not Qi Manifestation though, but merely the intimidating aura of Can Mouye himself. Seeing it, the young boy remembered the words of Chief Elder Baishen.
Martial artists could develop different states relative to their techniques, and their weapons in particular. The lowest states were collectively known as Martial Aura. When a martial artist reached such a state, his moves, even without Qi Manifestation, would be imbued with an aura. It was not physical but psychological. Every technique would be way more intimidating and also more destructive. This aura was the sign of someone who had reached a very high level of proficiency in his weapon. Right now, Cao Yun was witnessing the Palm Aura of Can Mouye. Because he was trying to save his energy, he had decided to rely on his Palm Aura.
Although such an aura was not made up of Qi, it could be as destructive as Qi Manifestation. In a sense, this technique was a form of manifestation of both the martial artist's understanding of his art, but also his very soul.
Faced with this giant palm coming straight for him, Cao Yun was unable to see any way to escape or dodge. For an instant, he even lost all hope of blocking the attack. Such despair was due to the Palm Aura affecting his mind. Thankfully though, his mind cultivation was powerful enough to pierce through this despair. But it was too late to dodge or even block.
'Cutting the Retreat'. 'Pushing the Sky'. 'The Son of Heaven's Spear and Shield'.
Cao Yun angled his body with his movement technique. Then, he was barely able to deflect the giant palm. At first, it was aimed directly at his head. Even with his physique, he was not sure whether he would survive that or not. Thus, he used his own palm to change the trajectory of the attack. Since he had not enough time to completely get out of the way, he was barely able to direct the palm toward his right shoulder. In fact, the palm struck a bit too close to his heart.
At the last moment, he activated 'The Son of Heaven's Spear and Shield'. It was a technique he could use even without the spear in hand. In his body, he was able to divert the energy produced by the attack. And instead of directing it in his spear, he changed the technique and sent all the energy he could in his legs.
Thanks to that, he was able to propel himself toward the opposite side of the yellow lake. His goal was evident, his weapon.
Fighting Can Mouye without his spear was suicidal. But he was not fast enough to get to his weapon before his opponent. That was why he made full use of his attack to get a boost of speed. Although he was a bit worried about Huang Liyue and the egg, Cao Yun was also convinced that his opponent would focus all of his strength on him. After all, in that short exchange, he had felt that he was indeed extremely weak. If he had been even as strong as a 4th-grade Mortal Warrior, Cao Yun would have been killed, or at least gravely injured, by the attack just now.