Despite her boorish appearance, Zeng Bei had lived through many political intrigues. She had worked as a hunter, as a bodyguard, even as an assassin from time to time. For several decades, she had even been hired as a martial instructor by a young noble family. As such, she had more political sense than some of the other hunters.
Guai Mo was a young alchemist with a lot of talent. Besides, he was also a talented cultivator. Not a single cultivator had exceeded the Mortal Warrior realm in Yunling City. Cao Yun was a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior who was not even thirty and had passed the 1-star Human alchemist examination. No one could rival him. Although he didn't look like it, Zeng Bei knew he could probably beat her in a fight. Worse, he would certainly be able to kill her if he wanted to. Beating a fighter and killing one were two different things. Zeng Bei was convinced that even if she risked everything she had, Cao Yun would ultimately win. Besides, he had probably ways to protect his life she had no way of destroying.
Although the chances were low, she knew that she had to curry favors from Guai Mo. From what she had heard he wasn't so bad. She had already met young alchemists who were insufferable, Guai Mo was not one of them. His youth could forgive a lot of his remarks.
"Esteemed alchemist, I imagine that your mount must be exhausted since you've traveled from Baziyun City to our humble province in such a short time. Also I think it would be a good idea to rest. Miss Huang Si told us in advance that you would come and to warn her as she would like to entertain you for a while. I humbly suggest that you accept her offer. Our Yunling Forest is humble in front of such a noble alchemist. But I can brazenly claim that there are a few ingredients that you would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. In fact, there is one in particular that would really interest you. Deep in the forest, our scouts have established that there was a ripe Hellish Dragon Fruit. Miss Huang Si would like to talk about it with you."
Hearing the name, Cao Yun's interest was piqued. Indeed, that name reminded him of something in the back of his mind. Even now, he had not fully assimilated all the knowledge he had read but he could easily access it at any time. Immediately, he retrieved the information he needed.
The Hellish Dragon Fruit was a very rare fruit. Most of it was in fact made of red scales while its flesh was very limited inside. In fact, the flesh was almost useless. What was important in this fruit was the scales. Year after year, they would develop while using the flesh within as nourishment. It would take between a century or two for the fruit to reach its full maturity. As such, this fruit was indeed rare and not everyone could find it. Besides, from what Cao Yun knew, it was almost exclusive to the territories occupied by the demons. In the Hongchen Kingdom, only a handful of apothecaries could produce one of those. That being said, this fruit was very interesting for Cao Yun for two things.
Considering its name, it was obvious that this fruit was rich in Fire element. As such, it could be very useful for a Mortal Warrior who was trying to accumulate Fire Qi in his Middle Dantian. Once his current cultivation stage was stabilized, that was exactly what Cao Yun would have to work with Fire Qi more and more. For that, the scales of the fruit would be a huge help for the young man. In fact, Cao Yun literally began to read documents on how best to pluck the fruit, store it, prepare it and use it as he heard Zeng Bei.
More than this cultivation usage, the fruit was also intimately related to the Vermilion Bird. This was a legendary beast that was extremely similar to the fenghuang family. Reading more about the fruit and the Vermilion Bird, Cao Yun also saw that this fruit could help Hongyu stabilize her strength and maybe even help her improve her prenatal Jing both in quality and even a tiny bit in quantity. This wouldn't solve all her problems. But if Cao Yun could use this fruit to make her essence stronger, it would reduce her needs of his frequent treatments. As such, she would be able to survive without him for longer periods of time.
Of course, all those decoctions were not easy to make. In fact, the pill Cao Yun had in mind to relieve Hongyu was a 5-star Human pill. Although he was only a 1-star Human alchemist, this didn't mean that he couldn't refine it. It only meant that, to this day, he had not refined a Pure 5-star Human pill. But Cao Yun was convinced that he had the potential to do so. Indeed, although he had no spiritual senses, his mind cultivation and his senses were so developed that he could almost see inside a cauldron without spiritual senses. And during his travel, he had worked a lot on assimilating the knowledge about alchemy, in preparation for the Alchemy Conference.
What didn't sit well with Cao Yun was Huang Si. Zeng Bei had been prepared for Cao Yun's arrival. That meant that Huang Si had studied Guai Mo very carefully in order to find the best bait for him. However, he could tell that Zeng Bei wasn't lying about the Hellish Dragon Fruit. Besides, Huang Si had most likely received words from the main branch of the Huang family telling her to treat Guai Mo well. The only issue to deal with was what she wanted in return. Huang Si had almost been chosen as the next matriarch, Cao Yun couldn't believe that she would just tell him that without expecting anything in return.
"City Lord Zeng is very astute. This fruit does indeed hold my interest. And Hongyu would benefit from a period of rest. So I will take your advice. Please, show me to the Huang residence."
"Thank you, Alchemist Guai, this will be my honor to be your guide. The Huang residence is a bit farther than our city. It will take an hour to get there. If you have anything else to do..."
"I don't, City Lord. Please, show me the way."
Cao Yun's tone was firm but not insulting. Clearly, he didn't really care about Yunling City. But the Huang name was holding a lot of value, even in the Subei Province. The guards beside Zeng Bei weren't too happy. However, they could indeed understand that a 1-star Human alchemist found their city too poor for his tastes. Although he was too arrogant, at least, he had saved them some face by not saying it out loud.
"Of course. We'll depart right away."
Quickly, Zeng Bei delegated her authority to some man who was close by and she proceeded to guide Cao yun toward the Huang residence. They left the city and ventured into some fields that were manned by mere mortals and even a few Mortals. This was probably their main source of food. Apparently, they had deviated the flow of a nearby river to irrigate their fields. Cao Yun could clearly see that there had been recent works on the installations. The efficiency of those fields would slowly increase. It was obvious that the Huang family was trying to improve this village and they were the only noble family in there. Most likely, they had found something interesting and had decided to be the first one to get access to it.
Zeng Bei and Cao Yun were walking fast but they were not running. If they had wanted to, they could have crossed the distance between the entrance of the village and the Huang estate in less than ten minutes. Yet, they took a full hour. Cao Yun was also aware that this was giving them enough time to be ready for his arrival.
Finally, they reached the estate. It wasn't too shabby but the residence was nowhere close to what Cao Yun had seen in Baziyun City. In fact, it looked more like the residence of Huang Cixi in Yinmen City. No one would say that the owners were poor, but no one would claim that they rich either. Moreover, once again, Cao Yun could see that there were older buildings who were even more modest. And around them, recent buildings and walls had been built in a hurry. Even now, he could tell that some array formations were not done. But he could see that there was a stable, almost empty right now. This was probably the reason why it had been built outside of the official Yunling City. But there were probably other reasons related to the laws of the Hongchen Kingdom.
As soon as they arrived, they were greeted by a stunning woman. Immediately Cao Yun recognized Huang Si even though he had never met her. First of all, her hair was pure white, the symbol of the Huang bloodline. From the distance, Cao Yun could also see that her eyes were light gray and in them, he could vaguely see two flames. Since he knew a bit more about the techniques of the Huang family, he knew that those were two True Fiery Drops. Her dress and her dignified stature made her look like an empress who would have lost herself in a humble town. All of a sudden, the entire Yunling City looked way poorer than before in comparison.
Upon their arrival, Zeng Bei bowed before her and stood to the side, leaving Huang Si and Cao Yun talk to each other.
"Thank you, City Lord Zeng. Alchemist Guai, I heard a lot about you. And I am not disappointed now that I meet you."
"The feeling is mutual, Miss Huang."
"Great. Let's drink while we talk."
They entered the residence and a table had been prepared. Cao Yun and Huang Si sat down as servants brought two cups of wine. It wasn't an exceptional wine but this still seemed a bit extravagant for a small city like Yunling City.
"City Lord Zeng told me about this Hellish Dragon Fruit and this piqued my interest. But I am left wondering. Why wouldn't you take it for yourselves? After all, such a fruit would be very beneficial to your True Fiery Fenghuang bloodline, right?"
"Indeed. However, this isn't as simple as taking it. You see, the Yunling Forest is kept in peace by a trinity of 6-core demonic beasts. They all balance each other out, and this ensures that the entire forest stays rather peaceful. There are no territorial disputes between the demonic beasts, thanks to those three. Unfortunately, such a balance cannot be eternal. And one of them has been found to nurture this Hellish Dragon Fruit for himself, the Five Bloods Pheasant."
"So you don't want it to have the Hellish Dragon Fruit because it would disrupt the balance, but you can't attack him upfront because you don't want to upset the balance either."
"You are very quick. This was precisely our first concern. But as the fruit will soon be mature, we have to prevent the Five Bloods Pheasant from harvesting it. However, he is always watching over it. Since we don't have any Spirit Warrior, we'll be forced to resort to trickery in order to get the fruit out of his claws. Hopefully, he won't go completely berserk once the fruit is gone. In fact, we just want to buy some time. In less than a century, I am confident that at least one Spirit Warrior will join our ranks."
Spirit Warriors were monitored, especially near the borders. For example, late Spirit Warriors were strictly forbidden to travel in the Sunmen Province and the Subei Province. The Imperial City didn't want them to cause an incident with the demons. After all, they were the biggest weapons of mankind, so they had to be used with caution. There were late Spirit Warriors among the military but adding another one without taking precautions could lead to violent incidents as the demons would respond in kind. And things could escalate quickly.
Thus, the Huang family had not been able to send a Spirit Warrior in the Subei Province. Besides, they had already sent Huang Jian in the Sunmen Province, along with Huang Lü. Even though he wasn't a late Spirit Warrior, the Imperial City had not agreed to another Spirit Warrior from the Huang family settling down in the neighboring province.
"Then, what do you expect of me? I can't take on a 6-core demonic beast all on my own."
To be fair, Cao Yun probably could, but Guai Mo was another thing. In fact, with the art of poison, he might be able to take down a 6-core demonic beast. Indeed, they were not as crafty as humans so they were even weaker when it came to poison.
"We do have a plan that will require stealth. At first, another hunter from Yunling City was going to do it. But when I heard about you, I thought you would be perfect. Moreover, the Hellish Dragon Fruit would be great for your mount, Hongyu."
Beneath Huang Si's words, Cao Yun could sense that she knew a lot more about him than she should have had. Guai Mo's stealth had never been the matter of any report whatsoever. Although he couldn't be sure, Cao Yun was almost certain she was talking about 'Ashen Feather Seal'. But he was also certain that Huang Liyue would not have talked about it with just anyone.
Sensing some tension, Huang Si kept on drinking while smiling without a care in the world. She truly was beautiful. In fact, sensing this danger behind her smile made her even more beautiful, like a flower with thorns. This woman was the real deal, not just some useless noble. Everything that was going on around her was her doing. And Cao Yun was even certain she had been planning for his arrival for at least a month. As soon as he had left Baziyun City, she had known everything about what had happened there.
"So, Guai Mo, what do you think about our plan?"
"I would like a map of that forest as well as the spot where this Hellish Dragon Fruit has been found. I want everything you know about what is going on. Then, if I agree with your plan, I will take half the scales of the Hellish Dragon Fruit."
"This isn't a problem. The fruit is not our goal. We want the balance between the demonic beasts to stay stable. Even without the fruit, we can pay the hunters. You might even keep the whole thing."
"You're too generous... But I still need to think about it. In the meantime, I do believe that you will take care of my mount. Although she doesn't look like it, Hongyu is exhausted."
"Of course."