The suction force was so strong that a few weaker Spirit Warriors were sucked into the hole in space. A couple of them felt as though they were being crushed as space was contorted around them. Before they could even enter the rift, their chest had caved in and their blood was being sucked in. By the time the rest of their body followed, it was too late.
On the other hand, the stronger Spirit Warriors were already organizing a defense. Even the demonic cultivators were helping. Despite the enraged fight that had just happened, they were lucid enough to see that someone else was acting against their Demon King. Besides, Emperor Weide's suggestion had been enough to convince them to help if only temporarily.
Xiao Xuefeng was already playing her guqin in order to quarantine that part of the sky. Emperor Weide was still rather weak after using his Domain, but he drew on the aura of Emperor Nuwa. From his spatial ring, he even resorted to take out a brush. There was nothing impressive about it. However, even Xiao Xuefeng felt as though this was a priceless treasure. Indeed, it was the brush used by Emperor Nuwa to draw the first draft of the Hongchen Kingdom's constitution.
Just by having the brush, Emperor Weide's aura changed a bit. Nonetheless, he was still too weak to fully make use of all its powers. However, he knew it well enough. Thus, the brush would still have some effect on the crisis at hand. They had to make sure that the blood hole could not stabilize itself. And for that, it was necessary to starve it. Unfortunately, they didn't know how long it would take. What they knew was that if the rift got stable, it would become a portal for an impending invasion.
On the ground, Cao Yun and Yong Ke were both levitating toward the blood rift. Despite Cao Yun's impressive cultivation and strength, he was no Spirit Warrior so he couldn't fly. The two of them were being sucked toward the rift faster than any Spirit Warrior and they couldn't do anything to change their trajectory. From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took out his spear. He might have been able to change his trajectory by striking in the opposite direction. However, he wasn't thinking straight at all.
Despite his mind cultivation, seeing his younger sister alive had thrown him into sheer chaos. Furthermore, he could imagine all the tortures and brainwashing she had suffered through considering her current state. Instead of trying to save himself, he tried to save her.
With 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar', Cao Yun mobilized all of his Spear Aura. Under his strong emotion and will, the Horn Constellation appeared once again in his sea of consciousness. But this time, it was more vibrant than ever.
'Dragon's Twin Horns'!
Powerful cones of wind were sent toward Yong Ke. He knew that it would hurt her a little, but at least, she would be sent back to the ground. It should give her enough time to get to safety inside the Everlasting Earth Palace. On the other hand, Cao Yun was sent backward. Although he had still made sure not to be thrown toward the bloody rift, the distortion of space caused him to go closer and closer to it, faster and faster.
In the sky above, Emperor Weide and even Xiao Xuefeng's senses were completely altered by that gigantic force. Unfortunately, no one was too familiar with the Dao of Space. Even Huang Liyue who had gone through the rift leading to Cleansed Asura's decaying sea of consciousness, the Yellow Death World, couldn't see through that thing. At that moment she was however the one with the most experience. If only they had had Sect Leader Xuan, he might have been able to help way more. In fact, if he had been able to command all those Spirit Warriors, he might have resolved the problem by now.
Sadly, Sect Leader Xuan wasn't here. And without anyone noticing it, Cao Yun was being sucked into the bloody rift. Something happened that changed the situation. Hongyu arrived at full speed. Her feathers had turned completely black and there was an eerie black fire all over her wings. For Cao Yun, there was absolutely no doubt, Hongyu was using her evil core to the limit. Her flames were so corrosive that they were burning through space, allowing her to fly straight toward Cao Yun despite the distortions caused by the bloody rift. Obviously, the experts all noticed that 4-core demonic beast flying toward them. Although she was no threat, it was still very noticeable, and very strange. There was no reason for a demonic beast to kill itself in such a way. In everyone's mind, this was clearly suicide.
Among them, Huang Liyue, Xiao Xuefeng and Hua Fenfei recognized the demonic beast. Although she was somewhat different, she was clearly Hongyu, Cao Yun's mount. Besides, Huang Liyue had spent quite some time with Hongyu back in Baziyun City. There was no way she would not recognize her, even if she were to form other cores and change her physical appearance. She could clearly sense her bloodline. Better than that, Huang Liyue's blood was resonating with Hongyu's bloodline. The closer she approached, the more excited Huang Liyue's True Fiery Drops were getting.
Although they couldn't get distracted, they followed Hongyu's trajectory. That was when they noticed Cao Yun. The young man was being hurtled through the air. On the ground, Emperor Weide also saw his daughter Yong Ke. Her weimao and her veil had been blown away. Even her clothes were partially damaged because of Cao Yun's attack. However, she was back to the ground. Standing up, her first instinct was to try to help Cao Yun. As soon as she stood up though, she heard Emperor Weide's voice. He ordered her to go back inside. Immediately after that, she felt a powerful force exerted from behind. A servant had grabbed her and was pulling her inside. As he was a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, she couldn't do a thing. But she still struggled, unwilling to let go of Cao Yun.
As she was seeing his figure disappear in the sky, an image flashed in her mind. She saw the same man but younger, maybe five years younger. She was seeing her small arms flailing toward him as a late Spirit Warrior was taking her away. On Cao Yun's chest, she was seeing a deep laceration. It had been so deep, she could see some of his bones that had been split open and his very heart still beating in his chest. Her vision was blurred by her own tears. As that single memory resurfaced, Yong Ke began to cry as well. She didn't fully understand what had happened, but she knew that her connection with this Chen Guo was stronger than she had thought.
On Cao Yun's side, the situation was critical. Because of the chaotic space he was in, he couldn't even move his limbs properly. He could feel a powerful force trying to rip him apart. That was when he heard Hongyu's screech. The Black Heart Flame in him resonated with Hongyu's flaming wings. Despite her injury, she was flying faster than ever. At last, she reached Cao Yun. As soon as he sensed her presence close to him, Cao Yun focused all of his Qi and blood in his arms. He sent his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' back in his spatial ring and focused solely on grabbing Hongyu's plumage.
Amidst all this chaos, he was successful. The very moment Hongyu felt his hand grab onto her, she immediately tried to fly toward the ground and away from the bloody rift. Going in the direction she had come from would take too much time. Instead of that, she was trying to fly in the opposite direction. In other words, she was trying to fly as straight as possible away from the bloody rift. That was the right move. But she had clearly underestimated the suction force of that bloody rift. What she had not taken into account was also the pressure that would be exerted on her entire body.
Her broken wing was only bearing the cost of her efforts because of her evil core. However, that was the last straw. Under this pressure, her wing completely snapped in two. Then, Hongyu and Cao Yun ended up being sucked into the bloody rift together. Trying to escape from it, Hongyu mobilized all of her energy, her entire body and Cao Yun with it were covered in her black flames. Obviously, they were not hurting Cao Yun too much. And at the same time, the young man was pouring as much energy as she could sustain into Hongyu in order to help her.
When he finally realized that this was useless, he tried to send a message to Xiao Xuefeng. In that moment, there was one thing on his mind and this wasn't his own survival. He tried to tell her that Yong Ke was really Cao Huiying. If she stayed with Emperor Weide, he would ultimately rob her of her Soul Embryo. That meant a most sinister death followed by something even worse as he would be refining her very soul into himself.
Cao Yun had no way of knowing whether Xiao Xuefeng would even receive his message or if someone else might hear it as well. Since space was completely broken, and that Cao Yun had no control over the Dao of Space, he couldn't be sure of the trajectory of his thoughts. In fact, Xiao Xuefeng might be just too far for him to even reach her in the first place.
Thinking about the Dao of Space, Cao Yun had an idea. He still have one thing that might help him survive. Hopefully he could also extend it all over Hongyu as well since they were so close to each other. From his spatial ring, he took out Sect Leader Xuan's Spirit Condensation Barrier. Considering that that artifact had been created by Sect Leader Xuan who had poured a part of his soul in it, it might be helpful against a distortion of space. Maybe he might have a chance....
At that moment, Cao Yun wasn't thinking about surviving for himself. He had to survive to defend his younger sister. The words of his parents came back to his mind.
"Leave with your sister. Protect her! Live! Your mother and I love you! Do not throw away your life. Live!"
He would not disobey their last command. No matter what, he would save his younger sister, but he wouldn't throw his life away either. He would find a way to save her and stay alive in the process. The only one who would die for sure was Emperor Weide. All of Cao Yun's hatred congealed on Emperor Weide. In his mind, he was the worst traitor of human history. Not only would he kill him, he would expose his crimes for all to see!
Holding on this hatred and this rage, Cao Yun used the Flying Poison he had subdued in order to operate the Spirit Condensation Barrier. Now that he was able to use spiritual senses, he could activate it even more thoroughly and control it a little. Pushing with all his will, the barrier didn't just surround him, it also surrounded Hongyu's body. As the barrier was extended around them, they both felt that the immense pressure of space was lessened. But the barrier was already cracking. All around them, Cao Yun saw Insight Writings. Some of them were similar to the ones he had seen in 'Death Verses' and to the Rune of Fire. Those particular Insight Writings were the understanding of the Dao of Space gathered by all the Wubei Sect's sect leaders over the generations.
And in front of that rift in space, they were the ones resisting the most. However, they couldn't prevent Cao Yun and Hongyu from being sucked into the rift.
In the end, they both entered the bloody rift in the sky. As they did so, the Insight Writings used by Sect Leader Xuan shined brighter and brighter. On the outside, the Spirit Warriors were all shocked. The bloody rift was starting to close itself. It was as though something from within was pulling on it. Even the suction force diminished greatly. And at the same moment in the Wubei Sect, Sect Leader Xuan was interrupted in his meditation. He had sensed that his Spirit Condensation Barrier had been activated. In fact, he sensed that it had breached through space. Thanks to his low understanding of the Dao of Space, he could tell. And he could also tell that it was being sent somewhere else.
Later, he would learn everything that had happened and he was certain that Cao Yun had survived. However, he had no way of knowing where he had been sent. In fact, Sect Leader Xuan and Xiao Xuefeng decided to hide the truth. They obviously told his brothers and sister as well as Feng Yingyue. They didn't want them to think he was dead. Then, they announced that he had returned to his seclusion since the Alchemy Conference had been canceled and that he had been injured during the fights.
-
Trapped in the bloody rift, Cao Yun literally saw the space close itself in front of him. He then knew that he wouldn't be able to go back. Five years ago, he had fallen to his death thinking he would never see his family ever again. This time, he didn't repeat the same mistake, he clung on the certitude that he would come back. One day, he would come back to make things right. He would come back to this land and save his younger sister. He would slay Emperor Weide, no matter what!
As the bloody rift was unstable and attacked by Sect Leader Xuan's partial soul, it was about to collapse completely around Cao Yun. That would mean his utter destruction. But he couldn't accept that. If someone had tried to open that rift, that meant that there was another opening to go through. He had to find it. Since it was about traveling between worlds, Dian Mo might be useful.
And indeed, suddenly, Dian Mo saw something and ordered Cao Yun to go in that direction. Without hesitation, without doubting him, Cao Yun used all of his will to try and orientate himself by using his spiritual senses and his Qi. As he wasn't a Spirit Warrior, he couldn't fly but he might still be able to alter his trajectory. Sensing what he was trying to do, Hongyu helped him a little. In the end, they did go in that direction and space changed.