"I have to admit that alchemy is rather poor compared with the God's Land. The best alchemists we have can barely produce Hetian grade pills."
Unfortunately, Cao Yun didn't know how demons ranked their pills. If only Dian Mo were awake, he would have asked him. Since he could not, he was forced to ask further questions to Xixue. Obviously, it seemed strange to her. But Cao Yun was able to mask his questions well enough so that it didn't look like he was unaware of the ranking system. After all, he was talented enough in alchemy that Xixue could not see through his questions. Besides, he mainly asked about the quality of pills and of some ingredients he knew were common even among the demons.
In the end, he was able to determine that pills were ranked in the same manner as in the Hongchen Kingdom. Of course, the names were a little different and the translation in Nuhua was a bit difficult. Thus, Cao Yun decided to translate them in his own way while using the Moshenhua terms when he was speaking. Hetian pills were simply Heaven pills.
Besides, to make things even more complicated, they ranked them in the opposite order. That was to say that a 1-star Hetian pill was in fact a 5-star Heaven pill. Anyway, Cao Yun would translate everything in order while referring to his familiar system rather than the one used by demons.
From what he had understood, the best alchemists in the Nalupu Kingdom could barely be called 1-star Heaven alchemist. Thus he would downplay his ability a bit.
"I am a 5-star Human alchemist. And I already have a few pills at the ready. From what you told me about the market, I should have around a thousand Heidai worth of pills right now."
From what he had learned, a Heidai was equivalent to twenty taels of gold.
In fact, Cao Yun had way more than that. But a thousand Heidai was already a lot. After all, the slaves would have been sold for around two hundred Heidai in total. In other words he had way more wealth than what the demons around him were worth on the market. Moreover, he could easily make even more money just be refining some pills.
No matter where one was, alchemy was always the best way to become rich fast. Besides, he also had in mind to refine a pill to help him form his Golden Blood. Cao Yun was really close to finally becoming a 4th-grade Golden Blood Child. And in less than a few months, he was confident about breaking through once more in his mind cultivation. Then, he would be able to pass off as a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon without any problem at all. However, he would lack the actual strength of that level.
While he was thinking about all that, he was also planning. Right now, his best bet was to forge a relationship with Boss Gui. Since she was a bit of an outcast among the other city lords, this was the obvious choice. Besides, putting aside her brutality, she was very rational. And Cao Yun had what she desired to spare. Not only would she love to get her hands on his alchemy talent, but she would also give anything to obtain such a talented seal master.
Of course, Cao Yun was not keen to show all of his talents at once. First of all, he would have to show how good his alchemy was. And he already had some ideas about this. Xixue would act as his proxy though. Although she shouldn't be too well known in Ruohe, Cao Yun was still careful about that. Thus, he decided to craft some mask using his knowledge of seal. It wouldn't be as good as the weimao worn by his little sister, but it would still hide her face and blood to most demons. And to complete that, he would also put a seal in her.
Even though she had been telling the truth, Cao Yun couldn't trust her. Besides, putting a seal on her was also a way to show other demons that he was a legitimate businessman. No Accomplished Demon would leave their subordinates without any seal in them, just like demonic cultivators.
"I know exactly who to talk to in Ruohe about alchemy. If the quality of your pills are recognized, this will be even easier to forge your reputation. But there are some things you should know about our culture."
When Xixue began to explain the way demons greeted each other, the way they sealed their deals and other information that should have been common sense, Cao Yun wondered whether she had guessed more than she should have. But he didn't perceive anything in her. Most likely, she still believed that he was a demon, but that he absolutely wasn't from around here. In fact, it felt as though she was taking him from a demon come from another planet. This wasn't impossible since Demon God Da Mo had done so. But an Accomplished Demon alone would have never been able to accomplish such a feat.
Anyway, he was happy to learn all of that from her. Yaxue had not been that well informed when it came to the way to do business in the Nalupu Kingdom. After all, he was just a small time slave hunter. Boss Gui was the one who handled everything once he brought her the slaves.
"If you are certain of your decision, I will now proceed to putting some seals in his blood and soul."
"I am ready, Lord Mo."
She bowed and cupped her fists in the manner she had taught him. Unceremoniously, he projected his Flying Poison and his Qi in her body and got to work. Because he didn't want her to betray him, but also because he didn't want her to suffer any harm, he was extremely careful with his seals. If she tried to betray him, her sea of consciousness would simply collapse on itself. At the same time, he added seals to protect her from anyone trying to penetrate her soul.
If someone attempted to get in her sea of consciousness, that person would suffer a terrible backlash. Most early Accomplished Demons would be seriously injured or even killed if they were not careful enough. Besides, the seals would also hide her identity to privy eyes. Combined with the mask he had created, even City Lord Sihe would not recognize her if she didn't want to be recognized.
In order to pass as a real alchemist and to do business with Boss Gui, he would need to buy some slaves. According to Xixue, Ruohe was the right place for that. She knew where to find competent slaves to assist both a businessman and an alchemist. Finding servants for a hunter would have been easier. But as an alchemist, Cao Yun's reputation would be way higher. Alchemists were not as revered as in the Hongchen Kingdom. But their skills were still highly appreciated.
That being said, alchemists needed to be strong enough to protect themselves. Otherwise, it wasn't rare for an alchemist with no affiliation to be reduced to slavery. Since Cao Yun had a powerful bloodline and was an Accomplished Demon, Xixue was almost certain this wouldn't happen though. And considering how well versed he was when it came to seals, no one would ever be able to use a Slavery Brand on him anyway.
When he was ready, Cao Yun addressed the former slaves.
"Fellow cultivators, I will go to Ruohe with Miss Xixue. Unfortunately, I can't let you use those caravans because there can't be any evidence of what happened here. However, you are all free to take the food, the water and even some money from those. That being said, I have another proposition for you. Until we reach Ruohe, you pretend to be my slaves. And once we reach Ruohe, I will buy you a transport to travel safely in the desert."
For some time, the former slaves pondered about this. To be honest, they were a bit afraid that this was a trap. But considering Cao Yun's strength, this was meaningless. He could either slaughter them all or force seals in them. Their souls were blank canvas for him. Not a single one of them had ever met such a dangerous character.
They were nomads living in the desert. As such, they knew how to take care of themselves. However, they had to admit that traveling on foot from such a distance was a bit suicidal. They probably couldn't even carry enough provision for the travel. And there were very young demons among the group. The weakest of their tribes had already been executed by their slavers. But they had kept many young demons alive as they would sell well.
In the end, they had to accept Cao Yun's proposal. This was the sensible thing to do. Furthermore, they trusted him. As long as he was with them, they were safe. That was for sure!
Of course, they didn't know that he was bluffing about his actual cultivation. However, in Ruohe, there was no Accomplished Demon. In a one-on-one, he could kill absolutely everyone in the city. That didn't mean he could eradicate the entire city though. At the very least, he could escape from there unharmed.
To ensure that no one could deduce what had transpired here, Cao Yun got rid of the caravans. He simply took them in his spatial ring. Besides, there was some money in the caravans. In total he found around fifty Heidai. Although he tried to insist, the former slaves refused the money. In other words, he had the equivalent of around twenty Yuanbao in his spatial ring. Of course, he wouldn't be able to use the Hongchen Kingdom currency. Apart from this money, he also had several pills and materials he could sell.
On the other hand, the slaves gladly accepted the food and water. He kept them in his spatial ring but he always made sure that they had enough at all times.
The idea of having servants wasn't a problem. However, Cao Yun didn't like that he had to pretend they were his slaves. More than that, he didn't like that he would actually have to buy some slaves. He hid his doubts to Xixue. Yet, the small woman still tried to get rid of his scruples. In her words, he found the same kind of rationalization that he had used. The slaves he would buy would be treated well by him. But if he didn't buy them, they could be bought by some terrible master.
-
Now that the slavers were all dead and that Cao Yun had to destroy the caravan to hide any potential clue, the group was walking through the desert. Unfortunately, Hongyu was not big enough to welcome everyone on her back. And Cao Yun didn't feel it proper for him to ride with her alone. However, he had another idea. Now that he knew more about this Desolate Dune Desert, he could hunt. Besides, the demons around him also knew a lot about the desert.
Unlike the slavers, they lived in the desert. Cao Yun had a very good idea of the map of this Desolate Sepulcher. From what he had understood, this place had been called that because of the great battle, the Gods' End. During that battle, many a Reborn Demon had been killed that day, felled by the "Great Usurper" Emperor Nuwa. Apparently though, the demons of the Desolate Sepulcher were not worshiping Demon God Da Mo. They had some manner of respect for him, but their true respect and for some even worship was for the Weaver of Souls. Weaver of Souls had died on this very continent.
According to the legends, the battle had been so fierce that this land which used to be attached to the main continent had been ripped away from it and had drifted to the other side of the Piaolu planet. Cao Yun had no real idea of who the demons of that time were. The name was vaguely familiar from things he had read but this wasn't a very interesting topic for humans. Once Da Mo's rule and empire had crumbled, the humans didn't care much about its inner workings. Besides, after the Great War, there had been many civil wars among demons. Emperor Nuwa had kept unity among humans, but Da Mo's demise ruptured any hope of that among demons.
Anyway, those demons around Cao Yun were all coming from the same tribe, the Moshu. Like several other tribes, they were not strictly speaking nomadic but semi-nomadic. Indeed, they had several places where they spent their life according to the changes of the desert. But recently, their lives had become much more complicated. Previously, some of them were captured when they ventured alone or by small groups too close to the cities. However, the war waged by the Empyrean Asura Theocracy had increased the demand for slaves. They were needed both to build, to mine, to perform miscellaneous tasks but also to fight, most of the time as cannon fodder.
Of course, the Empyrean Asura had forbidden slavery among those who believed in his faith. But he had no qualms using demons from the Desolate Sepulcher who didn't worship Demon God Da Mo. In his eyes, they were not true demons, just bastards who were almost humans. Since blood was so important for demons, 'bastard' was truly a strong insult that could literally warrant death.
Because of those recent changes, the slavers had become more and more brazen. Thus, the tribes had to become almost nomadic. From what Cao Yun learned from them, there were way more tribes than the Nalupu Kingdom thought. The Desolate Dune Desert was a huge part of the entire Desolate Sepulcher. Because of terrible winds, its topography was always changing. as a result, the tribes were using the stars and had incredible star charts. Although they were relatively weak, the Moshu were expert when it came to the desert. And they were a huge help to Cao Yun. Thanks to them, he was able to avoid any of the natural traps, as well as most demonic beasts.
That being said, he didn't avoid all demonic beasts. Indeed, he didn't want to make them walk all the way to the cities. So Cao Yun captured a couple of Sunscale Sand Tortoises. Those beasts were only 4-core demonic beasts, and although they were very resistant thanks to their carapace, they weren't too strong. It didn't take long for Hongyu to subdue them. It was easier for demonic beasts to follow the commands of another beast rather than a human, or a demon.
Using them as their new caravan thanks to some supplies from Cao Yun's spatial ring, they marched toward Ruohe with more speed, even though those Sunscale Sand Tortoises were not the fastest demonic beasts.