The very air around the tree on which the Five Bloods Pheasant had been perched was turning reddish as Cao Yun was getting closer.
Finally, Cao Yun was able to see the full tree with his own eyes. The bottom part of the it was completely calcined, yet it was standing. It was the only thing still standing in fact. All around it, there was a terrifying aura that made his heart skip several beats. If Cao Yun had not already been faced with many mental attacks by the past, he might have lost his will. A lesser cultivator would have let go of his defenses because of that and the heat and flames would have consumed his flesh.
Thankfully, Cao Yun was ready for that. He circulated 'Bleeding Eyes' and clashed with the disheartening aura head-on. This was a battle of will between a cultivator and a mindless plant. But the clash was still extremely intense. In Cao Yun's eyes, there were oceans of blood that were boiling under the aura of the Hellish Dragon Fruit.
The tree itself was a rather thick root that exited from the ground. Coiling around it, there were many vines that had fused with it under the extreme it. Thus, it formed some kind of natural cage around the trunk of the tree. Among all these dark, burnt colors, there was only one glint of life. At the very center of the trunk, Cao Yun saw the fruit. It was a mix of dark green and orange, full of tiny thorns that were red hot. Despite its powerful aura, that fruit was not larger than Cao Yun's head. All over that red fruit, there were thorny scales that evoked real dragon scales. When he saw them, Cao Yun even thought about the Azure Dragon and the Ebony Snake Dragon's scale he had still in his spatial ring.
The Hellish Dragon Fruit had been growing on a healthy tree. But the moment it started to ripen, all those phenomena had appeared, until the tree itself was literally killed by them. The only reason why it was still standing was because of the vitality of the parasitic fruit that had killed it. Because other dragon fruits that were not mature enough could not survive either, there was always only one Hellish Dragon Fruit by tree. Besides, unless the fruit was harvested and some seeds obtained from it, it was impossible to make another tree.
On the bark, Cao Yun saw what appeared to be dried blood. Most likely, the Five Bloods Pheasant had given his own blood to nurture the fruit. It had probably cost him a lot. So Cao Yun was starting to doubt how he would react once it would be stolen from him. Besides, it would know that humans had taken it from him. Although it wouldn't grow too powerful, it would still be a huge threat. Huang Si's plan on that part was rather weak. Or maybe she was expecting to draw the ire of the beast toward Cao Yun. After all, he would be forced to reveal a small part of his Qi to pluck the fruit. That way, the demonic beast might be after him. But this would be a big gamble.
Or maybe she was just thinking of that demonic beast as a human. Huang Si was too accustomed to dealing with humans and had thought that the same rationality could be applied to a 6-core demonic beast. They were smart yes, but they were not necessarily rational. Besides, humans could also be very irrational without the threat of the law.
Anyway, Cao Yun had been lucky to find a ripe Hellish Dragon Fruit. The risks were well worth it. For now though, he still had to pluck the Hellish Dragon Fruit without damaging it. Thankfully, he was an alchemist and had worked a lot on his Flame Control. Right in front of him was a test of his actual control over fire.
Just as he was about to start the procedure, Cao Yun heard Dian Mo's voice in his head.
"Look out!"
Immediately, Cao Yun dodged. A column of fire erupted from the ground where he had been standing.
"This fruit won't let you pluck it that easily. That damned thing has almost gained wisdom. Look at that scale in the middle!"
Right in the middle of the fruit, there was a burning rune on one of the scales. Immediately, Cao Yun recognized what this was. This was an Insight Writing, most likely related to the Dao of Fire.
"Your luck is both good and bad! It's incomplete, but this Hellish Dragon Fruit has a fragment of the Dao of Fire, a Rune of Fire. That makes it even more precious. But that also means that it won't be easy to take it. And of course, it will quickly attract the Five Bloods Pheasant's attention."
From what Cao Yun had heard from Sect Leader Xuan, the Dao was the law that governed absolutely everything even before anything else existed. This was a principle that was out of reach for mere mortals. Even Mortal Warriors and Spirit Warriors were unable to get close to it. Only after becoming a Sage could one really begin to study the Dao. But even then, the Dao was beyond one's abilities. First, cultivators had to study fragments of the Dao, minor laws of nature that were also called Dao. For example, Sect Leader Xuan had some understandings of the Dao of Space. Even for a half-step Sage, this was incredible.
Right in front of him, there was a fragment of the Dao of Fire. For an alchemist, this Dao was extremely useful. But more than that, Cao Yun was also cultivating his blood and the cultivation of the demons. After the first three realms, asura stopped working on their blood to pour their effort into forming the True Fire which could be considered the equivalent of a Domain for humans. Besides, Cao Yun's Qi cultivation was in need of Fire Qi. Although Fire Qi was not directly related to actual fire, understanding even a tiny bit of the Dao of Fire would be useful.
The Hellish Dragon Fruit was often considered as a half-step Spirit fruit because it had a high intuition despite having no real conscious or will. Just like any plant, it was reacting to its environment without being aware of it. But it was extremely close to forging a real spirit of its own. This had allowed this particular fruit to develop a small connection with the Dao of Fire. Of course, this was exceedingly rare and a great chance for Cao Yun.
But that also meant something else. Zeng Bei's scouts had failed to notice it, otherwise the agreement Huang Si had made with Guai Mo would be a real loss for her. And Cao Yun wasn't sure whether all three demonic beasts were aware of this. But the Five Bloods Pheasant was for sure. After all, he had nurtured this Hellish Dragon Fruit. Faced with such a prize, he would not give up so easily. Losing a Hellish Dragon Fruit was not such a huge loss as he could just wait to get another one. However, this fragment of the Dao of Fire was something that could not be replaced. The Five Bloods Pheasant would probably risk his life to get his claws on it.
If the Five Bloods Pheasant couldn't find his Rune of Fire, he would probably attack the nearby city, risking his very life. Maybe, without this Rune of Fire, he would have hated the humans but wouldn't have dared to venture in their territory. Furthermore, the other two demonic beasts were preventing him from going in a large portion of the forest so the hunters could have still operated undisturbed. With this discovery though, Cao Yun knew that Huang Si's plan was truly doomed. Then, Cao Yun had to rethink his strategy but he was still confident.
Moreover, Cao Yun had to take this fruit for his own cultivation. It was already enticing before. But now that he knew what was in it, he could not let it go either. For now though, he still had to pluck it. Since it had a fragment of the Dao of Fire, getting it would be even more difficult than what Cao Yun had thought. Until now, he had only been confronted to a Dao once, when Sect Leader Xuan had fought against Mo Tian. But he also had the 'Death Verses' which was clearly Cleansed Asura's understanding of the Dao of Death. As such, Cao Yun had unknowingly worked on a Dao before. That explained why he had not been able to advance 'Death Verses' for quite some time now.
Even after getting this Hellish Dragon Fruit, Cao Yun would not understand anything about the Dao of Fire. But he would have the first piece of the puzzle. There were a few Dao that were essential as they could be used during cultivation. The Dao of Fire and the Dao of Space were two of them. Besides they were also useful for alchemy and array formations respectively. Similarly, the Dao of Death was also useful for cultivating one's soul as Cao Yun had realized. Indeed, the Dao of Death was related to Po, the corporeal soul that caused all the processes of death at the end.
In order to get the Hellish Dragon Fruit, Cao Yun got as close as possible. Immediately, the tree itself caught on fire. Tongues of flames erupted and assaulted Cao Yun where he was standing. Instead of dodging, he focused his Wei Qi and even used his 'Dragon's Chest'. All around him, scales of the Azure Dragon appeared to form an armor. Cao Yun was forced to activate it on his entire body. Thankfully he was still alone so no one could recognize his art. His Qi was condensed at the surface of his skin. At the same time, he had to keep all of his concentration for the process to come.
In all the books he had read, he had found out the perfect technique to pluck this blazing fruit. It was simply called 'Ethereal Scissors of Tranquility'. In theory, it was a very simple alchemical technique. By focusing one's Qi around one's fingers, a Human alchemist could control the elements around his palm. That way, he could avoid any potential clash with the environment and the ingredient. Such a method was not difficult to grasp but was incredibly difficult to master.
Shortly after reading it, Cao Yun had been able to use his Qi in such a way. But what he was lacking was the ability to perfectly match the environment around the Hellish Dragon Fruit. Furthermore, he would need to be able to do so while the fruit was trying to burn him to cinders. This wasn't the best circumstances. However, he had no choice. If he left right now, he would probably never get another chance like this one. The Five Bloods Pheasant would certainly act after he had felt that someone had gotten so close to his treasure. Considering the rune of the Dao of Fire, Cao Yun was now convinced that the Five Bloods Pheasant would never let go of this fruit, even if he had to die in the process.
Cao Yun could imagine the wrath of the Five Bloods Pheasant if the Hellish Dragon Fruit were to be stolen. And he was literally about to steal it from under his nose.
In the distance, the Five Bloods Pheasant was fighting against Zeng Bei's group. It was so enraged that the group had already used most of the pills given by Cao Yun. Without them, there would have been at least a couple of deaths already. Thankfully, Huang Si's plan was working better on their ends. The Silan lake was known to be very cold and extremely rich in Water element as well as Earth element. The two of them were strong against the Fire element. In an actual fight, this wasn't too useful. But they were still able to use it to their advantage. They had used a small array formation to lower the temperature around them and to humidify the air.
Thanks to that, the attacks from the Five Bloods Pheasant were a bit weaker. The difference wasn't much, but it was still there. Considering how dangerous their prey was, they put every advantage they could get on their side.
In the distance, however, the Five Bloods Pheasant finally saw that something had happened near his nest. Despite the confusion of the battle, he had understood what was going on. These humans had attracted it while their comrade was stealing his fruit. Suddenly, a powerful screech resounded throughout all the Yunling Forest. Even Huang Si was able to hear a small echo of this rage.
On the other hand, the Golden Plumed Jackal and the Flame-Tailed Wolf were watching from afar. They couldn't see the tree per se but they could feel its heat and they could also physically feel the rage of the Five Bloods Pheasant. Although they too desired this blazing fruit, they especially didn't want the Five Bloods Pheasant to have it. Even though it might not allow him to forge another core right away, it would open the way for that to happen in the near future. They had to stop him from acquiring it. And they couldn't let the other one get it either. The best outcome would be to get it for them alone, but they would both settle for no one getting it.
In a direct confrontation, they were evenly matched but the Five Bloods Pheasant had a significant advantage. Contrary to them, he could fly. And unlike him, they didn't want to upset the balance of things. In a way, they were like the hunters. They liked how things were right now and didn't want it to change. If they could avoid this whole situation without fighting, they would be glad. With six demonic cores, they had began to become wiser and more prudent. But that didn't mean that they wouldn't take advantage of the situation if they could.
While under the full might of the Hellish Dragon Fruit, Cao Yun felt as though he was being cooked alive. His Wei Qi was protecting his flesh while the blood within his veins was protecting his organs. During this ordeal, Cao Yun had a good idea. He decided to try and harmonize the Qi around his hand with the fires outside. Since they were coming from the Hellish Dragon Fruit, they were perfect to cut it without damaging it.
First, he had to lower his Wei Qi around his right hand. Immediately, his skin began to sizzle. Under those conditions, Cao Yun's hand would soon be burned to a crisp. Thankfully, his flesh had been nourished by his own blood when he had been a 3rd-grade Blood Child. With the flames all around him, Cao Yun's blood was also being stimulated more than ever. Before he could even realize what was going on, he felt a huge change within his body.