Qingyun City was the capital of the Subei Province. And it was rather close to the western border, near the lands of the demons. To cross the entirety of the Subei Province, according to the maps and Hongyu's speed, it would take her around two weeks. If Hongyu pushed herself to the limit of her speed, she might be able to do so in less than three or four days but she would need to rest for a few weeks before flying at full speed again.
Since this province was very close to the borders of the Hongchen Kingdom, it was heavily guarded. Of course, Cao Yun could not go flying into the capital like that. There were even more array formations in place to avoid that compared with the rest of the kingdom. At the exception of the Imperial City, the provinces at the borders were the most heavily guarded. That was also why there had been so few attacks of demonic beasts during the stampede. Despite that, the casualties among mortals and commoner cultivators were just way too high and the explanations didn't make much sense to Cao Yun.
There had even been reports of small settlements being completely wiped out. According to Cao Yun's estimation, there were at least a thousand people who had died without a good explanation. Thus, he wanted to start his investigation as soon as possible. But first, he had to go to the first outpost, even if only to register his presence. As an alchemist it wasn't a big deal as they were favored by the Imperial City, but since he was flying around with a demonic beast, he had to. Spirit Warriors and any kind of human who could fly, by any means possible, had to register themselves, no matter who they were.
Attacking from the air was such an advantage in warfare that it was heavily monitored. Thankfully Cao Yun, as Guai Mo, was a competent alchemist and had received all the documents he needed for Hongyu from the Huang family who had raised her when he was still in the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Hongyu was officially his demonic beast and as such would not be treated as a savage creature. Besides, any demonic beast related to the fenghuang family was seen as a good omen. Few hunters would ever try to kill such a demonic beast if they were not forced to.
A fenghuang would never be perceived as a threat unless it started to attack. However, if Hongyu came too close to a city, she might still be attacked or even captured. After a demonic beasts stampede, people would probably be very nervous to see such a demonic beast near their home. As such, Cao Yun would still have to be careful. Around the cities, he would probably move on foot, just to be safe.
Right now, Cao Yun was looking at the map of the Subei Province within his sea of consciousness. On it, he had marked every report he had read about it. In his head, he had already planned a huge part of his investigation. However he knew that he would need to get some help first. Thankfully, he knew some people in Qingyun City, and the Huang family was close by. That would probably take some time but in the long run, this would help him a lot if he could forge deep ties with the Subei Province.
For now though, he had to get to the outpost. It was located in a tiny city very similar to what Fulao had been. Even compared with Yinmen City, this town was small. Indeed, it was mostly used by hunters. Some were even mere mortals. Although everyone could in theory cultivate immortality, for various reasons, some people could not even fully enter the 1st-grade Mortal stage. One of the most recurrent reason was just that some people had to work in order to live. Thus, they had very little time to do so. Even entering the very first grade of cultivation demanded a lot of time and efforts. Some people could simply not find several hours every day to work their body besides their actual work.
Another common reason was an injury. Sometimes, cultivators were heavily injured and their cultivation slowly went away. Over time, without Qi to sustain them, even bones and muscles would slowly wither and go back to what they were before. Age was also a factor in the equation.
According to the documents of the Seven Treaties Era, almost every human, albeit some who had some diseases or incurable injuries, was at least a late Mortal. Going through the very last stage to become a Mortal Warrior was rather complicated for some but the real obstacle was the Lesser Tribulation. The general cultivation of the population had plummeted and no one really knew why. Some thought that maybe the quantity and quality of Qi in the air had been reduced as people had cultivated. Over time, it would have reached a threshold from which it couldn't recover, like a resource that nature could not regenerate. But this hypothesis was not proven.
Thankfully though, the demons had also been affected. Some saw this as an opposition to the aforementioned hypothesis but many had claimed that although demons cultivated blood, what they really cultivated was the Qi in their blood, like demonic beasts. Even today, this issue was not resolved. But hope had been reignited thanks to Xiao Xuefeng and Hua Fenfei who had refined a Spirit pill.
Yunling City was a small town that had grown from being just a hunters' settlement to being a real town. It was well located. Indeed, it was very close to the Yunling Forest, hence the name. Surrounded by the Deep Cloud Ridge, the Yunling Forest was rich in resources and had developed a somewhat isolated biome. All around this forest, there were stone formations that looked like strange clouds on the ground and created some form of depression.
Despite all those merits, the Yunling City had never been considered by the Governor as very important. However, they had dignified it with a real name and had added an outpost right there. Thus Yunling City was the last place Cao Yun had to cross before officially entering the Subei Province. Although he had to wait to really investigate, he might be able to find some clues around here.
When he arrived, he saw that the city was better than he had thought initially. It wasn't rich per say, but it had certainly been improved if he trusted the reports he had read, and he did. That meant that in a few months, someone had invested a substantial amount of money and work in this city. And he knew who, the Huang family.
As soon as Cao Yun saw Yunling City, he decided to land with Hongyu. He didn't want a nervous hunter to start something. After all, he had all the official documents so he really didn't need that kind of problem. On foot, he walked toward the main gate with Hongyu in tow. Even on the ground, Hongyu was extremely elegant. Now that she had been helped by Cao Yun a number of times, she was even more vibrant than ever. And she had also grown a lot in only a matter of months. But she was still just a child.
"Halt!"
Hidden near the main gate, some guards stopped Cao Yun. They were not too threatening but they still had their weapons at the ready. In their eyes, Cao Yun could see fear though. Even if they couldn't feel Cao Yun's cultivation, they knew that such a flying demonic beast was way more powerful than they were. Cao Yun could feel that no one was above the Mortal Warrior realm in this town. And those two guards were just 6th-grade Mortals. If she wanted, Hongyu could slaughter the entire town. As so could Cao Yun, especially with his 'Ashen Feather Seal'. Their greatest fighter was very close to 7th-grade Mortal Warrior. But he still had a ways to go before officially breaking through.
As soon as his mind began to make plans on his own on how to best attack this place, Cao Yun caught himself. He might have become a bit too ready for violence recently. Even before he could reason with himself, he had already several plans in place in case he had to be violent in the city. Hopefully, he wouldn't need to. But even then, he would not need a plan to kill everyone. Cao Yun realized that he had been working on the Flying Poison a bit too much, wrath and rage were seeping through his unconscious mind.
His mind cultivation was however protecting his conscious mind. This was the reason why it was vital to first develop the Upper Dantian in order to resist the Seven Turbid Demons later on. And the Five Agents were a prerequisite to energizing the Upper Dantian.
Besides his mind cultivation, Cao Yun could feel that his very blood was also more agitated. The blood cultivation of the demons was also altering his perception but it was under check for now. And he would have to be careful for his mind cultivation to always stay ahead of his blood cultivation. Now, it made sense to Cao Yun why demons were more emotional, and often more violent than humans with such blood in their veins. And it also made sense for a demon to try and craft such a mind cultivation as 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'. Although it could empower demons, it might also make them more tame. This was an idea Cao Yun would have to ponder over.
For now, Cao Yun played the part of an arrogant young alchemist. He didn't bow at all, but he didn't pressure the guards with his Wei Qi either. After some consideration, Guai Mo would be arrogant and prideful but would not seek out problems and enemies. Cao Yun had no time and patience for those.
"I am Guai Mo, 1-star Human alchemist." As he spoke, he flaunted the emblem on his chest.
"The Huang family vouches for me."
As he said the last part, a document appeared from his spatial ring and flew toward one of the guards. Both of them were speechless. The one closer to the document read it quickly. Matriarch Huang had signed it in person and had used the seal of the Huang family. Forging such a seal was difficult and it would expose the culprit to a death sentence. As such, they immediately believed that Cao Yun was the real deal. A talented alchemist would have absolutely no reason to risk his life like that as he could easily obtain the permission to cross this outpost.
There was something more in their eyes though. As much as they tried to hide it, the name 'Huang' had had an impact on them. Then, Cao Yun remembered that the Huang family was indeed pouring a lot of money around here. Although he didn't know their exact plans, he wasn't too curious. Besides, he might soon find out.
After recovering from the shock, the two guards withdrew their weapons and lead Cao Yun inside the city. Once inside, Cao Yun could confirm what he had seen from above. Life in Yunling City had improved vastly. There were even busy shops along the road, selling food, materials, tools, weapons, clothes and even art. Huang Si was slowly making it into a fine city that could rival with Yinmen City in the Meifen Province. And maybe in time, it could even rival Qingyun City, the capital.
Without losing any time, Cao Yun quickly made his way into the home of the city lord. She was a burly woman with several scars on her naked arms and shoulders. Behind her, she had black and gray hair cascading along her back. Over her clothes she was also wearing the pelt of some demonic beast. Cao Yun couldn't be absolutely sure but this was probably from a Moon Devouring Gray Wolf, a 6-core demonic beast. In theory, they could contend with late Mortal Warriors. But there was no late Mortal Warrior because the last three stages were the Lesser Tribulation. As such, only 1st-grade Spirit Warrior could contend against such a demonic beast alone.
Of course, hunters rarely hunted alone. And that pelt was a symbol of that woman's strength. No matter if she had fought with five, ten or even twenty other hunters, killing a 6-core demonic beast was a great accomplishment considering that she was still a 6th-grade Mortal Warrior.
When she saw Cao Yun, she bowed and surprised the guards. Despite her status in this city, she knew that her standing was inferior to this young man. She had lived for around three centuries and was close to breaking through thanks to someone else's help recently. Alchemy had helped her take this step forward. Although she had always known that alchemy was powerful, she had never known it in her flesh. And such a young alchemist was a future talent of the Hongchen Kingdom. The Imperial City would be interested in him too.
Although she had little hope to form a relationship between her city and this young man, being courteous was a must.
"I am Zeng Bei, the leader of this modest settlement. Let me tell you that this is a pleasure to receive such an esteemed alchemist among us."
"Not too bad... I heard that your Yunling City was doing well lately. And I see that those rumors were true. Your city is lively and prosperous. I might even come back here in the future."
Although Cao Yun's words were nice, he was using a tone that clearly showed he was just being polite. In his eyes, this city didn't amount to much. The guards were neither pleased nor angry. Then, from Cao Yun's finger, the official documents appeared.
"For now, I just want to be officially registered with my mount. Please, check that everything is in order and send it to the capital. In time, I will go there."
"Of course, esteemed guest."
This was according to what Zeng Bei thought would happen. Their city would never catch the eye of such a young and talented alchemist. But the kind words he had spoken were not lost on her. Although he had demonstrated his superiority with his initial statement, their encounter wasn't too bad. However, it was too bad that he would leave so soon.
"Esteemed alchemist, if I might be so bold, Miss Huang Si told us that you might come. And she said that you might be interested in our Yunling Forest..."
"Oh?"