As Chief Elder Suxian got closer to the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, he took out many instruments from his spatial ring. Besides his compasses, flags, plates and other array formation tools, he also had many documents. For centuries now, he had studied this Palace of Supreme Wisdom. After all, it was a cornerstone of the Wubei Sect. If a disciple was good enough, he could absolutely soar through this test. In only one year, some had gathered nearly a decade of training outside. Moreover, there was almost no danger. Sometimes disciples could develop psychological traumas or even have their cultivation go berserk because of what they had experienced. But this was very rare because they had been trained by the sect beforehand. In fact, this was the reason why they waited for them to reach the third year so that they would be better prepared.
At the same time, Xiao Xuefeng was using her authority as acting Sect Leader to prepare a line of defense. Although they had no idea what the demonic cultivators really wanted, it was clear that it was within the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. As such, they would have to take that thing out one way or another. Despite all her efforts, Xiao Xuefeng was still not sure who the traitor was. In fact, there could even be multiple traitors. Chief Elder Liu's outburst could be a ploy to hide her intentions. By acting as though she suspected Xiao Xuefeng herself, she could lower the suspicions on her.
For almost three years, Xiao Xuefeng had used all her contacts to get as much information as possible. Thanks to her good relation with the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall, she was probably the person with the most knowledge of everything that was going on in the Hongchen Kingdom. And as a result, she was also the most confused. It seemed as though many parties were waging a secret war under everyone's nose but no one was the wiser.
Emperor Weide had not appeared in public for several decades. Demonic cultivators had infiltrated many different organizations. A demonic beast stampede had occurred, probably caused by them. The Cao family was slaughtered in a single night while Matriarch Huang was in seclusion. The Wolf Head Sect had been blamed almost instantly when the Imperial City took over the investigation. And they were exterminated without any problem in a single night as well. The Demon King had apparently found past knowledge from the demons. And he was targeting something from the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute that could be used to destroy seals while also targeting something within the Wubei Sect. At the same time, the demons were becoming more and more aggressive. From what she had heard, some powerful Accomplished Demon had risen to the rank of Emperor. It was difficult to get accurate information from the demon kingdoms but he had apparently taken over several kingdoms under his rule. Most likely, a great war was brewing between humans and demons, not just violent skirmishes like they were used to.
Xiao Xuefeng could literally see the Hongchen Kingdom fall apart before her eyes. But she was unable to find a single source of this chaos. Maybe there was none. Maybe this was just a terrible conjunction of catastrophes. Maybe the Hongchen Kingdom had just weakened to the point where it was just crumbling under its own weight. But if it fell, mankind would be either slaughtered or enslaved by the demons. After catching a glimpse of hope through Cao Yun and her own refinement of a Spirit pill, she could not accept this. Besides, she had also put some of her hope in Huang Cixi. Many of the most promising young cultivators had found themselves all around Cao Yun. Even her sister Hua Fenfei had taken Feng Yingyue as a direct disciple, the very Dao companion of Cao Yun. And all this also revolved partly around Cao Yun because of his family.
The young boy, for better or for worse, was deeply involved with what was going on. Deep down, Xiao Xuefeng could not stop herself from putting a lot of hope and aspiration in this young man. Officially he wasn't even a man yet because he was still nineteen. However, the fate of the entire human race might very well rest in his hands.
-
At that moment, Cao Yun was meditating in a pool of lava. He had sent his senses as far as they could, even using the Drop of Wrath to strengthen them. Despite his wishes, this lava extended way farther than he had hoped. There was absolutely no way to get out of it. The only way for him was to be able to resist the heat. Unfortunately he was not quite there yet. With the blood in his veins, he was confident in not dying immediately, but he would not risk being exposed directly to this molten lava. For now, his Wei Qi was powerful enough to protect him but the heat was still unbearable.
Any trace of blood that had remained on him had been reduced to ashes by that inferno around him.
Now, Cao Yun had completely retreated into his own sea of consciousness. All of his focus was put on his Bai Hui, the Gate of the Hundred Convergences. In his mind cultivation, he had energized the Chamber of Ultimate Truth that was right under this focal point. With his current Upper Dantian, Cao Yun had a real advantage on many other cultivators but that didn't mean he could simply open this gate.
The reason why an entire grade of the cultivation was devoted to this acupoint was because it was primordial in the next realm of cultivation. The Bai Hui was the point through which the Soul Embryo would be able to interact with the outside world. To become a Sage, one had to fully open his Bai Hui to allow his Soul Embryo to see the physical world directly. That way, the cultivator would become able to see through the Dao and amass more and more knowledge of the workings of this world.
As such, if this point was damaged, one would never be able to reach the Sage realm. But even if it had become a dream since the beginning of the Forsaken Dao Era, reaching the Sage realm would not be the only impossible feat. The more damaged the Bai Hui was, the more difficult it would be to progress through the Spirit Warrior realm because it would also negatively impact the soul and the Soul Embryo.
With all that in mind, Cao Yun had no desire to act in haste. However, now was the perfect opportunity. His mind cultivation was almost in the third layer and his blood cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. If he had come into the Palace of Supreme Wisdom, this was for this very opportunity. He had already crossed one grade. Now he could maybe cross another. Hopefully, it would be sufficient to convince the Palace Spirit that he had passed this new test.
With his mind, Cao Yun extracted almost pure Fire Qi from the lava. In order to preserve his meridians, he kept it out within his Wei Qi. And he weaved another surge of Qi around it. From his Lower Dantian, he took out pure Water Qi. The fusion between Water and Fire Qi was supposed to create the Soul Embryo. Of course, those two surges were way too thin to do such a thing. It required years, sometimes decades, of accumulation to get enough of those for a Soul Embryo. But still, associating the two of them together made them very interesting.
Once he was satisfied that his construct was stable, Cao Yun tried to open his Bai Hui. Slowly he circulated this surge of Fire and Water Qi around the Gate of the Hundred Convergences. From the inside, he also activated the Chamber of Ultimate Truth that was right under the Bai Hui and rich in Fire element. But he also adjoined it the Chamber of Jade, rich in Water element. Even in his sea of consciousness, he was balancing Water and Fire. In a sense, it was a small rehearsal of what forming the Soul Embryo would be.
Because he was extremely careful, it took him several hours to fully absorb this single surge of Qi. At some point, he had almost lost the balance. No matter which element took over, it was a terrible experience. If Fire was too strong, his mind was full of rage and hate. If Water was too strong, it was full of anguish and sorrow. And the effect on his body was also extreme, causing incredible pain. Furthermore, his Wei Qi was starting to become too weak. Or maybe the lava was getting stronger.
Being able to absorb this special strand of Qi was impressive in itself. Sadly, it was greatly insufficient. Cao Yun could feel that at this speed, it would take him several months to fully open his Bai Hui. The only way to fully open it was to take many risks. In fact, Cao Yun already had an idea in mind. He could use a technique he had seen in blacksmithing. But the tiniest mistake would create devastating results. Cao Yun was uncertain of many things about his future. Among them, two were very clear. He wanted to help mankind survive the demonic cultivators and the demons. And he also wanted to explore the highest summits of the cultivation world. Damaging his Bai Hui would be a catastrophe for him. Even the tiny chance he had of becoming a Sage would disappear.
As the heat intensified, Cao Yun was forced to retract his Wei Qi completely. Instead, he circulated his Qi and blood under his skin to dissipate the heat. At the same time, he was also circulating his Qi into his every cell to stop them from dying of asphyxiation. And while doing all that, he was still attempting to open his Bai Hui. If only he could break through, this test would become way easier.
Then it finally dawned on him. If he died while trying to be safe, it would be pointless. The Palace Spirit was still quiet. Right now, the only thing Cao Yun could think about in order to resist this test was to break through. That way, he would be able to absorb a bit more of Fire Qi in him without fearing for his Five Prodigious Gates. After all, the 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior stage consisted in forging the five gates through the use of Water and Fire Qi. However, one could only begin the process once all five gates were really opened.
Left with no choice, Cao Yun would take this risk. Once he could safely take in Fire Qi, he could pass this test.
-
In a frozen land, three men were walking. They were covered in blood and holding a Supreme emblem each. All three had the stench of death on them. They were clearly demonic cultivators. In the distance, one could see a giant storm starting to form. When all the realms had collided, they found themselves here. Now, they had to leave before the storm really started or they would get stuck in this frozen wasteland. As Mortal Warriors, they could feel the Qi around them. And with the Blood Runes they had formed, they could also sense Mo Zi calling for them.
Finally, their mission could start again. After being stranded in a realm isolated from their brethren, they had feared that they had failed. Thankfully, Mo Zi had found a way. Otherwise, they would rather die than get back to their masters. But even in death, the seals in their souls would maybe have some effect. In fact, none of them were knowledgeable enough to be certain of that, and superstitious enough to be terrified by the idea.
"Three Lights in Its Claws".
As they were walking in the ice, they heard a screech. Looking behind them, they saw a golden bird flying toward them. But watching even more closely, they saw that there were three arrows within the bird. This wasn't a bird, this was a Qi Manifestation.
"One Sun from Tang valley".
Before they could react, they were blinded by two small suns that suddenly appeared on either sides. Instinctively, they put their Blood Runes between them and the golden bird. However, the shock they were expecting never occurred.
"From the East, the Vault rises"!
From above though, the one who appeared to be their leader was pierced by an arrow. It was so fast that he was only able to sense it at the very last moment. In his attempt to dodge, the arrow pierced his left shoulder and went through and through. His Wei Qi seemed to be completely useless. In fact, he suddenly realized that he had no more Wei Qi although he was still feeling it around himself. What the hell was going on here?!
Just before the bloody arrow touched the ground, it expanded into another small sun. The leader realized the problem and tried to run away. On the other hand, the other two tried to activate their Wei Qi to the maximum. The morons had not realized it yet! Thinking that, the leader remembered that without this arrow piercing through him as though he was a mortal, he would have failed to see through it as well.
They had fallen into an illusory array formation. Although they were convinced that they had Wei Qi around them, they had dissipated it. In fact, the more they were trying to strengthen their Wei Qi, the more they were retracting it. So by trying to improve their defense, the two of them had completely exposed themselves.
The only good news was that the attack was not at a level that was lethal for them. Whoever had attacked them had not crossed the threshold of Mortal Warrior. Yet, they had been able to manifest their Qi. Thus, they had probably acquired some treasure from the previous tests. This prospect made the leader greedy. As long as he was careful about array formations, he could probably kill the attacker without too much problem. The moment he thought that though, he felt an intense pain in his very soul.
Indeed, his mission was a priority. He had to obey Mo Zi's orders, no matter what. Until after they had found whatever Mo Tian was looking for, could he go hunt the person who had attacked him. For now though, he couldn't do so. After all, they had probably fled right after initiating the attack if they were smart. Still full of rage, the man looked at his bloody arm. Behind him, his two companions were now also covered with a bit of their own blood and some scorched marks. All three of them wanted to find the attacker and skin them but they could not. Instead, they focused their blood runes to escape the array formation.