"I... No, I..."
Jie Yuan was a bit disconcerted by Cao Yun's sudden question. After seeing Cao Yun fight, he certainly didn't want to offend him, especially not in the middle of nowhere. But then he remembered when he had seen one of the men from that group.
"I think they hail from Mingyue. It's just a small settlement near the border of the Wang Province. Yes! This humble one remembers, most powerful lord, they were hunters from Mingyue. Most likely, they hoped to break through to the Spirit Warrior realm so they could make a name for themselves in the capital. Commoners like us have few opportunities in life. So sometimes we can be foolish when we think those opportunities are in front of us."
"Well, those cultivators died for nothing... But they did make their choice. I'll have the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall take care of their bodies."
"My lord?"
"Even though they acted as thieves and murderers, they probably have families as well. I'll have the Hall clean them up as much as they can and send them back."
Cao Yun had absolutely no problem revealing the fact that he had killed five people. After all, he acted in pure self-defense and he had a witness to that. Even if he hadn't, he had enough support to back up his story if need be. Although his little adventure outside of the Wang Province was a secret, he could still claim that it had happened beforehand. To be honest, this wouldn't be a big problem. Anyway, he would ask the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall to take of that after the Alchemy Conference and he would also ask them to keep his name out of any official record, just in case. With Xiao Xuefeng backing him up, he was certain there would be no problem.
"My lord is indeed generous. Such a lowly servant like myself wouldn't be able to comprehend your greatness."
"Jie Yuan, I already told you to stop talking like that many times. Your attempts at flattery are ridiculous at best, annoying and insulting at worst. However, you've big a big help for me. Thus, I will reward you for this service. Is there anything that you truly desire? If I can do something about it, I will ponder over the matter. Otherwise, I'll just pay you. Decide."
Indeed, Cao Yun had finally obtained the last ingredient he was missing for his Frozen Fire pill. With that, he might be able to advance his cultivation even faster than he had thought. Although Jie Yuan had been annoying the entire way, he had been incredibly helpful. Cao Yun was not one to renege on his word and he would reward anyone who was useful to him. On the other hand, he had shown that he would chastise those who meant him harm.
Jie Yuan literally fell to the ground, kowtowing to the alchemist. Truly, he felt as though he was the luckiest man in the world. And all of that was thanks to the cave he had found.
"Great master, my greatest desire has always been to improve my cultivation."
"Then, you wish for a pill to help you advance?"
This was the moment Jie Yuan had to grab. Such a fortuitous encounter was rare and he simply couldn't let it go just like that. A pill would only help him once and it could only bring his cultivation so far. Even if he became a 1st-grade Mortal Warrior, the Lesser Tribulation would still be a problem, even reaching it might be a problem in fact. After all, Jie Yuan was rather old for his current cultivation. And he had accumulated many problems already.
"If I may be so bold, I would like you to take me in as a disciple. A prodigious master like you would have no problem making me into a great cultivator. I understand that this lowly one is unworthy of your attention, but..."
"I hear you. And I understand your point. If you truly wish to work on your cultivation, and if you are serious enough, I can help you."
"Really, great master?"
"Of course. However, I won't take you in as a disciple. I have a better idea in mind. As Wubei Sect's Young Sect Master, I will refer you to a more competent master than I am."
"Great lord, no one is more competent than you in the entire Hongchen Kingdom."
Jie Yuan's words seemed even more false than before. He had a hard time hiding his joy. If Cao Yun himself talked about a greater master, Jie Yuan could barely imagine how formidable he would be. Maybe he might even become a great hero of mankind in the future. As long as he became a Mortal Warrior, his lifespan would triple at the very least. Then, he might reach the Spirit Warrior realm and live for thousands of years. Suddenly, Jie Yuan was dreaming of a great future and all because of a small cave he had fallen into.
In Cao Yun's head, there was a completely different scenario Jie Yuan would soon discover. Indeed, this little man was simply too annoying. And Cao Yun had decided to shape him into something else. The master he had in mind was Chief Instructor Peng. The Wubei Sect would know how to deal with his frozen meridians, but the process and the training would be incredibly difficult and even painful. Cao Yun had in mind of making Jie Yuan Peng Mo's student and personal servant. All day long, he would train him. Although it would be harsh, if Jie Yuan didn't give up he might indeed become a Spirit Warrior one day. Damn, he might even try to become an official inner disciple.
And if Jie Yuan gave up, then Cao Yun would have still repaid him for the ingredient. What he had decided to do would just open the opportunity to this Jie Yuan, whether he was able to grab it was up to him in the end. Too few cultivators were able to actually do what was necessary to progress.
In the following months, Jie Yuan would reach the Wubei Sect and Peng Mo would indeed take him in as a disciple. For several more months, he would everything to make him quit to the point where Jie Yuan only knew pain every single day. With his monstrous training regime, Peng Mo would make sure that Jie Yuan was always hurting somewhere while other parts of his body were healing. He would train him until his bones broke. Then, he would have physicians take care of him. Getting rid of the frost in his meridians would be the most painful process. For that, he would simply send his own Qi in his meridians along with some medicinal balms. Then, he would burn it all away bit by bit while trying to preserve them as much as he could. There would be lasting damage, no matter how cautious Peng Mo was.
Even if Jie Yuan became a Spirit Warrior one day, he would never be able to reach the pinnacle of that realm. But living a thousand years and being able to fly were already good rewards... Anyway, despite everything Jie Yuan would suffer through, he would persevere until the point where Peng Mo would even take a liking to the little man. However, Jie Yuan would never stop to try to flatter everyone a bit stronger than himself. Luckily for him though, he wasn't stupid enough to look down upon those weaker than him because he remembered what it was like. And if he had, Peng Mo would have taught him life...
In the present, Cao Yun went back to Xiaowu City with Jie Yuan. He made sure that there was a way for him to go to the Wubei Sect safely and parted from him as soon as he could. he was worried that he might end up striking him down in exasperation. That was when he received messages from the Imperial City. There were two of them.
The first one was from Xiao Xuefeng to tell him that they had reached the Imperial City safely. She was with Spirit Master Hua Fenfei, Song Guixiang, Mei Hua, Xue Gulin and Feng Yingyue. They had also a room prepared for him and she was looking forward to talking with him again. Of course, she didn't say anything too concrete in the message, but he knew that she was referring to what he had discovered in the Subei Province. Xiao Xuefeng was probably the woman he was the most honest with. However, he wasn't looking forward to that. It had already been five years since he had last met Feng Yingyue. Even their epistolary conversations had stopped over time. After all, they were both quite busy with their training and the events. Feng Yingyue had also dealt with the demonic beasts stampede and the demonic cultivators.
From what he had heard, she was now a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior. Even for an alchemist, this was a fast progress. Besides, she had also gotten her 5-star Human alchemist emblem. Just like Cao Yun, she had not slacked off at all. However, the young man was incredibly anxious about meeting her once more. After all, he was even starting to doubt about his true feelings. When they had met he had indeed fallen for her. But the truth was that the circumstances were very special. Back then, he was still under the shock of what had happened. And he had saved her life. Maybe her feelings were also different now.
To be honest, Cao Yun had also other problems right now than romance. This wasn't always on his mind. Maybe he was a bit like his brother Ren Chao. Although he wasn't as shy and inexperienced, apart from Feng Yingyue whom he had called his Dao companion, he had no experience at all. Thus, when he started to think about this, he felt his heart speed up a little and his blood become agitated. Even Dian Mo was chuckling when he saw how a young romance could trouble such a man.
The second message was from Huang Liyue. She too had come to the Imperial City. She had received orders from the Matriarch to guard their representative to the Alchemy Conference, Huang Yiren. In the message, Huang Liyue asked the young man if he could meet with her. Most likely, the Huang family had also heard about what had happened. But he wasn't sure exactly what Sect Leader Xuan had told them. As much as he had a good relation with Huang Liyue, he wasn't too trusting of the Matriarch. As long as it served her family, she would work with them. But in the end, she would only serve her own blood. To be fair, Cao Yun could perfectly understand that. At the end of the day, he was the same.
With two invitations, Cao Yun decided to answer to the second one first.
-
After a few days, Cao Yun finally reached the Imperial City. Even from a distance he could see it. That city was the biggest of the entire Hongchen Kingdom. And there were several artifacts left by Emperor Nuwa herself. Of course, she had left behind a few sacred treasures of mankind, like the Piaolu map or the 'Universal Law of Immortality'. Of course, there were copies of those in all the provinces. But the originals were guarded in the Imperial City. For several school of thoughts and even a few religious sects, the Imperial City was a place of pilgrimage.
From afar, it was possible to see the Imperial Palace. It was so huge that it looked like a small city within the Imperial City. And for all intents and purposes it was. Only officials could live there. The families of the governors of all provinces were also there. Like that they could form networks and receive a great education. At the same time, they were also hostages of sorts. If the Imperial City couldn't punish a governor for some reason, they would always be able to punish their family at the very least.
The main building was a very tall pavilion. There was also a nine-story pagoda that was even taller that this pavilion. Indeed, that pagoda was an homage to Emperor Nuwa so it was even more majestic than the palace of the current emperor, Emperor Weide. Obviously, there was a wall surrounding the Imperial Palace. Entering this place was completely forbidden and anyone attempting to do so without permission could be punished by death.
All around the Imperial Palace, the Imperial City was also majestic with the Main Hall of the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall being the most beautiful building of the entire city. There were also headquarters for alchemists, for array formation masters, for physicians, and for all sorts of occupations.
After registering at the first outpost he saw, Cao Yun went toward the restaurant Huang Liyue had mentioned in her message. He was perfectly in time, so he simply went to the meeting he had arranged with her. Later, he would need to go to Xiao Xuefeng but he dreaded his reunion with Feng Yingyue as much as he was looking forward to it.
With that in mind, he found Huang Liyue rather easily. They had a friendly conversation over a sumptuous meal. Clearly, this was the best restaurant Cao Yun had ever been to and he enjoyed his meeting with Huang Liyue quite a lot. Later, he accompanied her back to her residence and they talked about 'Ashen Feather Seal' as well as other things. Huang Liyue told him that Huang Cixi had still not left the Gate of Heaven and Hell. Although no one really knew what was beyond apart from the Matriarch, she might die in there. But if she came out, she would be officially chosen as the next matriarch of the Huang family. Huang Liyue still didn't tell him that he knew her more intimately than he thought, but she still kept him informed about her situation.
When he left, he briefly saw the white hair of Huang Yiren, their alchemist. He knew little about her except for the fact that she had been a student of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. She had then left a few years ago to go back to her family but she had not been in Baziyun City when Cao Yun was there. She was a 6th-grade Mortal Warrior, ready to become a Spirit Warrior, and of course a 5-star Human alchemist. From what he had read about her, she would probably be a fierce opponent during the Alchemy Conference.
Now, Cao Yun had to go meet an even fiercer opponent, Feng Yingyue.