Yun Ping, Yong Ke and Cao Yun met under the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. There were few rooms that were insulated from prying eyes and ears. Despite that, Cao Yun had been given one to himself. He could stay in there as long as he wanted. To be fair, he was about to help the Major Hall earn more in a few months than they had in a decade.
In that room, Cao Yun explained almost everything to Yun Ping, but also added things he hadn't told Yong Ke yet. Of course, he hid his real name but he did tell them that his family had been massacred by demonic cultivators and he was looking for answers in order to make them face justice. Since Chen Guo was supposed to be a commoner, they didn't even think about the Cao massacre. Besides, the recent stampede had shaken everyone. And the tensions with the demons, especially so close to the border, had also rattled everyone's minds. On the other hand, the massacre of the Cao family had not been a very important news outside of the Wu Province. And by now, it had completely quieted down since the 'culprits' had been eradicated.
Hearing that some demonic cultivator might be hiding in his own city, Yun Ping was furious.
"We should tell my father! I know none of you know him very well. But I can assure you that you can trust him. And with my word, he will listen to you."
"I don't have that much evidence. In fact, most of what I rely on is my own senses and I can't share them."
Cao Yun also had some documents from the Wolf Head Sect. However, they didn't really tell anything about Gu Song's whereabouts. Moreover, they were talking about the 'Traitor'. Since that person was either the Emperor himself or someone very close to him, that wasn't the kind of thing he was ready to share. Not only was this dangerous to him, but this could also bring a disaster upon whoever knew about this. First of all, he had to find real and concrete evidence. From Gu Song's mind, he was certain that he would find more tangible things. That being said, he had already hinted at it in a letter sent to Sect Leader Xuan and Xiao Xuefeng.
General Yun Po was officially under the command of the Imperial City. Although he had some freedom to act, he couldn't disobey a direct order from the Imperial City without risking death. Telling him that his superiors might have organized the massacre of a family would put him in a difficult position. Besides, Cao Yun wasn't after the Imperial City right now. His presence in Qingyun City was solely about Gu Song and the demonic cultivators.
After seeing Yun Po in person, Cao Yun was now convinced that he would prove useful in this endeavor. The main problem was that he might not agree with his entire plan. Weighing the pros and the cons, Cao Yun still deemed that getting a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior behind his cause was the good call.
"Friend, I'll believe you. You can tell your father about me and about everything I've told you. However, try and convince him to let me do my own thing. If I fail and all goes south, he should be powerful enough to take care of things, right? Besides, it might look bad if he acted first."
"What do you mean?"
"Before coming back here last night, I walked through the residential area and I went as close as I could to both the Governor's residence and the Xue family estate. The two of them were reeking of Evil Qi. Even now, I'm not sure what it means exactly. The fact that there is Evil Qi doesn't necessarily means that they work with the demonic cultivators, but it is proof that he went there very recently, or is still there to this day."
Even Xiao Xuefeng would not have been able to feel anything like that. However, Cao Yun's senses when it came to Evil Qi were just stronger. In addition, he had Dian Mo to help him. With the two of them, hiding one's Evil Qi was almost impossible, at least not for a Spirit Warrior. Thus, Cao Yun had been able to feel those traces. That didn't mean though that he was able to pinpoint it perfectly as there were many array formations in place.
Hearing this, Yun Ping began to think a lot. Outside of a fight, this was an odd occurrence. But for Yun Ping, this was a fight. This was politics. And he would use his knowledge of battle formations.
"This is indeed a bad thing. If Governor Jiahe is implicated with the demonic cultivators, it is obvious what kind of problems would arise. But if the Xue family is involved with them, then it might even be worse. Our Yun family and them have been at each other's throats for a very long time. Even recently, they almost cost us several lives. During the stampede, they almost made sure that we were risking our lives in the riskiest battles while they tried to hoard all the honors in more prestigious fights. This is an open secret. If my father goes after them publicly, everyone will think that this just a personal vendetta and it won't be taken seriously."
"But until we know anything for certain, there shouldn't be any public condemnation. My friend, trust me. I know what I'm doing. Prepare your father and talk with him. If I fail, I will be the only one implicated in this matter. But if I succeed, I might need his help to save me from troubles."
By the side, Yong Ke listened without interrupting.
"What is your plan?"
For a few hours, Cao Yun explained the gist of what he had in mind. Both listeners were quite stunned as it was extremely dangerous. Going up against a 4th-grade Spirit Warrior was almost suicide for even a half-step Spirit Warrior. Right now, Cao Yun was just a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior. Yes, his Qi cultivation had sped up and he had advanced far. But at the end of the day, he was no match for such an opponent. Despite that, they had to agree that he might be able to it off considering his vast knowledge of both alchemy and array formations.
Of course, Cao Yun couldn't tell them absolutely everything for the simple reason that some of his plans required his special cultivation and even Dian Mo's help. He had made an oath not to reveal Dian Mo's existence and he couldn't openly talk about his blood cultivation or his mind cultivation. That being said, he told them enough to make them believe there was a chance. Then, he also showed his Spirit Condensation Barrier. With that in hand, he would be able to escape from a 4th-grade Spirit Warrior's clutches. And if Gu Song went out against Cao Yun publicly, it would be as good as revealing himself. Then, General Yun could strike him down as the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute had officially denounced him.
After his theft, Gu Song had been labeled a traitor of mankind. Anyone was free to kill him in any way they saw fit. Of course, that meant that Gu Song would be careful not to appear in public. But whether he was hiding in the Governor's residence or within the Xue family, getting to him there without evidence would be impossible for General Yun.
Thankfully, Cao Yun had other means and Yun Ping just accepted that.
"Count on me. I'll convince my father to help you. But as much as he is righteous, he won't risk our entire family without any assurance. First of all, he will want to speak with you of course. But I fear that if helping you jeopardize our standing, he won't lift a finger. Worse, he will probably stop me beforehand to make sure I don't do anything reckless. Recently, he's been more and more protective of me and my sister."
Yun Ping looked at his left arm. But Cao Yun knew that there was something else. Yun Ping's mother had died from a rare disease four years ago. Soon after giving birth to her daughter, the poor woman had begun to cough up blood. As warriors, the Yun family had a few talented physicians in their ranks despite having no alchemist. However, none of them were able to save her life. So General Yun humbled himself and petitioned the Governor himself. The Governor did try to help while the Xue family just used this opportunity to humiliate General Yun even more. Obviously, their grudge had grown deeper at that moment.
As it turned out, Yun Ping's mother's disease was incurable. The physician Governor Jiahe found was a 4-star Heaven physician. Such a gesture had greatly moved General Yun. In the end though, his wife had died after several months of agony. She was barely able to enjoy the birth of her daughter. The only consolation was that she had at least been able to see her face.
Since that time, General Yun had been less present on the battlefields. But recently, he had been forced to go a lot. As such, Yun Hua had become restless. Most likely, she was trying to catch his attention each time he was present. Almost every day, she tried to run away from her teacher. But she was still working a lot to balance out her absences. Although there was tragedy and sadness, this household was bursting with life. And after learning all this, Cao Yun had understood General Yun a bit better. He would do everything in his power to protect his children. But that might backfire if he thought Cao Yun's plan was too dangerous.
Since his wife had died, General Yun would probably not remarry, or maybe in a very long time. As such, he would not have any more children. Besides, Yun Hua was literally the last gift from his wife. He wouldn't father another child before a very long time, if ever.
"Besides, my father can't act as freely as some people might think. No family is ever of one mind. Even now, there is dissent. And the fact that I might never be able to break through in my cultivation is not helping. If my father does something that could hurt our name, he might even be stopped before he could act. Unfortunately, our situation is complicated. But I'll try to talk things out with my father for you. At the very least, I can assure you that he won't interfere with your plans. And if you're able to smoke out Gu Song, he will be there to deal the finishing blow."
"Thank you, my friend. Speaking about your cultivation though, I might have a solution."
"What?!"
"The reason you're not progressing is because you need a good harmony between the first four Prodigious Gates before attempting to open your fifth gate, the Bai Hui. And sadly, you've lost your left Labor Palace. As such, trying to find balance became much more difficult. But no one ever said that only the Labor Palaces could be used as a Prodigious Gate."
At first Yun Ping had been excited but this excitement was now gone from his face.
"I already tried replacing my lost Labor Palace with other acupoints. But there is no acupoint that can do the same kind of work. I would only hurt myself even more if I tried to force this role on a weaker acupoint."
"Oh, I agree with you. But once again, no one ever said that a Prodigious Gate had to be a single acupoint. Since no one acupoint can do the job, then you just have to use several of them in unison. Yes, it will be harder to control as you will need to learn to make them work together. But I am certain that it can work."
Indeed, Cao Yun had used his knowledge of array formations to try and find a way to mimic the Five Prodigious Gates. First of all, Yun Ping had been injured because he had protected Yinmen City and his brothers. On a more practical note, helping his friends gain power was a good thing when he was about to engage in such a dangerous plan. He hadn't thought of it before, but this might even smooth things over with Yun Po. And it would also be helpful for Cao Yun as it would improve his understanding of the Five Prodigious Gates he was tempering right now.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun had no way of using the world tree's seed to help his friend. But he had found a way. As an array formation master and an alchemist, Cao Yun had been able to find the most suited acupoints to replace his lost left Labor Palace. He chose four points on his left side that were connected to the same meridians and vessels. However, Yun Ping would also be forced to alter the circulation of his Qi within his body. With Cao Yun's help though, it would be easier. If he followed Cao Yun's advice, Yun Ping would have completely replaced his Labor Palace in around ten months.
That was a no-brainer for Yun Ping. Unlike Cao Yun, he didn't reject such a great gift before accepting it. He obviously knew that Cao Yun was acting partly out of guilt, so he did tell him that it was not his fault. Yun Ping had made his choice and was comfortable leaving with the consequences. However, he accepted that gift with great hurry.
Then, he spent several hours with Cao Yun working on his ideas. Immediately, Yun Ping understood that it could work. The flow of Qi through those acupoints reminded him of the sensation of his lost Labor Palace. More than that, he could feel the other ones react to this.
No matter how talented Cao Yun or Yun Ping were though, this process was delicate. In a sense, it was just like learning to walk again. Yun Ping was going to have to teach his body and his mind to work his Qi in a completely new way in order to compensate the loss of his left limb. At first, it would always be a conscious effort. But with time, it would become automatic until it was as natural as breathing. One could alter one's breathing voluntarily but one didn't need to think about breathing to do it.
After the day was over, Yun Ping left with a precise idea of what he had to do in order to replace his Labor Palace. He was overjoyed and eager to help Cao Yun get his father's help.
On the other hand, Cao Yun was ready to visit the two places he had staked out. Whether with Yun Po's help or not, he would act.