The new convoy was walking way faster through the Desolate Dune Desert. If they had had those demonic beasts from the start, and the extensive knowledge of the Moshu, instead of four to five months to leave that desert, the caravan would have only needed a bit longer than a month. And with even faster demonic beasts, they could even have done so in a three weeks. In fact, with the knowledge he had gained and was still gaining about the region, and with Hongyu, Cao Yun could travel that distance in a couple of weeks.
Obviously, this would be helpful since Cao Yun was preoccupied with saving his little sister as soon as he could. But this time he had spent had cooled down his spirit. Although his emotions were still strong, he had fully realized how foolish going back to the Hongchen Kingdom without a good plan was. He need more strength and a sound strategy. Anyway, just to get there, he would need to cross the Divine Blood Ocean. The idea of trying to be sold as a slave crossed his mind but he quickly discarded it. Even though he could easily break the Slavery Brand and disappear with his stealth, he would then be stuck in the demon territories. What he needed was to gain a status here first.
Instead of acting rashly, he had to prepare carefully. For too long he had despised the fact that he was too passive and indecisive. But that didn't mean he had to become rash and impulsive. His little sister was safe as long as she didn't become a Spirit Warrior. On that front, the young man was absolutely certain that he would become one first. Even as an early Spirit Warrior, he might return to the Hongchen Kingdom.
What he actually needed wasn't necessarily the strength to fight Emperor Weide himself, but to organize people around him. Hopefully, if he could get Sect Leader Xuan and Matriarch Huang, many others would follow. But strength was still necessary to come back home and convince people, especially during a war. He had to show everyone that following the traitor wasn't a good option.
Anyway, Cao Yun was already planning for his next steps. Despite the information he had taken from Yaxue, he still didn't have all the pieces to fully understand this continent. Thankfully, Xixue brought more light to those. The Desolate Sepulcher was based around three powers that were balancing each other out. This wasn't a very stable form of government. But to be fair, demons on the main continent had suffered through many civil wars. Because humans felt like they were always surrounded by innumerable enemies, they were very united. Demons, on the other hand, were always plotting against each other. Moreover, the humans had the figure of Emperor Nuwa to give legitimacy to the ruling Emperor. Apart from some religious groups more or less worshiping Demon God Da Mo, no one had real legitimacy. Even Empyrean Asura had used religion to justify his rule.
The political power was in Lord Wanghuo's hands. He was trying to name himself Emperor Wanghuo but it was difficult for him. Despite his great power - he was an 8th-grade Accomplished Demon, the highest cultivation in the Desolate Sepulcher - he had not the absolute authority. Indeed, the Nalupu Kingdom was made of many cities. Among them, twenty-one cities were important, three of which belonging to the three main powers. Those were city-states that were always competing with each other. Separated, they were weaker that Lord Wanghuo of course, but united, they could threaten his power.
The economic power belonged to the Xinian Confederation. This was the largest trading company of the entire Nalupu Kingdom. But the members of that confederation couldn't be directly involved in the local governments. Of course, the problem was easily circumvented, as corruption seemed to also be very well developed in the continent. Although no official member of the confederation was involved personally, they had family members or close friends in those governments. So long as they didn't destabilize the Nalupu Kingdom, Lord Wanghuo was forced to turn a blind eye. In fact, they could also be very useful to get intel and keep some City Lords in check. Furthermore, the confederation wanted the Nalupu Kingdom to stay stable to do their business. Overthrowing Lord Wanghuo would be a incredibly risky gamble.
Finally, the religious power was the sole property of the Sisters of the Abyss. As the name suggested, they were all female demons. Unlike the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, they worshiped this aforementioned Weaver of Souls. In fact, they were in charge of maintaining his blood. To be honest, no one truly knew what it meant. However, they were always looking for more sisters. Those sisters would serve either with their life or their death. That religious order was very secretive about its rituals. That being said, they were respected by all. And they also had incredible members. Sisters could be fighters, spies, assassins, masters of various occupations of arts. In almost every imaginable domain, they had some Sisters who could do a perfect job.
In fact, the Sisters of the Abyss were probably the most dangerous organization in the entire Desolate Sepulcher. Even Lord Wanghuo himself was fearing them. The fact that so little was known about them added to their legend, but what was known of them was enough to scare everyone nonetheless.
With all that in mind, Cao Yun had decided to follow Xixue's advice. But he already had some plans of his own. For the time being though, he was still gathering more information to flesh out his following actions. He simply couldn't afford to make too many mistakes. And right now, he truly needed to create a somewhat legitimate identity so he could then do everything he needed to do in relative peace.
-
Finally, the group left the Desolate Dune Desert. After reaching the summit of some large dune, Cao Yun saw for the first time some green vegetation. The desert still continued for some time but the topography was relatively flat. With his senses, he could already see a vast steppe with many plants and animals he recognized, as well as some he didn't though. Then, there was a modest city. This was Ruohe. Approaching this city was very important because it would be where he would create his character, Mo Yun.
From what he had heard, and listening to Xixue's advice, he decided to assume the same kind of arrogance as Guai Mo, his past persona. With the bloodline he boasted and his fake cultivation, a demon alchemist had to be arrogant. That being said, he didn't want to start any unnecessary conflicts. However, he knew that the law was way more flexible here. Some violence might be necessary to be recognized as a true demon, and to avoid being used by others.
As soon as they could be detected by the city, Cao Yun rode proudly on Hongyu's back. At the same time, he circulated his blood cultivation and let his Flying Poison out a little. He wanted to give a very good first impression. And that worked as well as he had imagined. Among demons, few had demonic beasts as pets or mounts. And among those, very few had flying demonic beasts. Even Accomplished Demons, despite the fact that they could fly, would flaunt if they had a flying demonic beast. This was a good thing as it allowed Cao Yun to keep lying about his cultivation. No one would randomly ask him to fly to prove his cultivation. And each time he really needed to fly, he could use Hongyu without raising any suspicion on his status. In fact, it would cement his strength and status in the other demons' eyes.
When he reached the gates of Ruohe, Cao Yun was greeted by an old woman and her servants. With his current cultivation, Cao Yun could tell that she was a half-step Accomplished Demon. Besides, she was proudly showing off her blood and her cultivation. Clearly, she was trying to make a good first impression as well. In fact, Cao Yun could feel a bit of fear and apprehension from her.
Despite her advanced age, that old woman looked no older than fifty and exuded a great vitality. Of course, it was hard to tell, but Cao Yun surmised that she had to be more than seven hundred years old. Concerning her cultivation, there was no doubt that she was on the verge of breaking through but still lacked something. Unfortunately, old age meant a diminution of prenatal Jing. If she kept on like that, she might truly die of old age before becoming an Accomplished Demon. Just like humans, the fourth and fifth realm of asura cultivation barely prolonged one's lifespan, if at all. Thus, Accomplished Demons would live around two thousand years, as long as Spirit Warriors.
Technically, anyone could do what Cao Yun was doing with his mind cultivation and try to work on their Turbid Demons before becoming an Accomplished Demon. But if a demon tried to turn an aspect of their Po into a Turbid Demon without being ready to subdue it, they would simply be devoured by it. In a way, this was like creating an inner demon voluntarily to later chain it down so it would obey. Cao Yun's mind cultivation was way softer as he was just working on the aspects of his Po but wasn't turning them into real Turbid Demons. Yet, those aspects of the Po were oftentimes referred to as Turbid Demons as well. Strictly speaking though, only a corrupted version of said aspect was a Turbid Demon. This was confusing but people rarely needed to refer to the separate aspects of Po if they were not Turbid Demons so there was no better term.
For example, his current Po of Qi was also called Unclean Evil. But strictly speaking, it would only called the Unclean Evil if it got corrupted by shame and turned into an inner demon.
Cao Yun had learned enough decorum to know how to act. Even if he was an Accomplished Demon in that woman's eyes, he had to respect the Nalupu Kingdom and its customs since he was going to live in it for some time. Thus, he landed with Hongyu at the appropriate distance. Flying in the cities was forbidden. Although there was no written rule on how far away from the city that restriction applied, there were tacit rules. And they depended on each person's strength and blood. Cao Yun had chosen a distance a step closer than his blood and strength should allow him. He had done so voluntarily as an alchemist. It was also a way of pressuring them.
There were many minute details in those protocols. And Cao Yun understood very well their importance. Even how low one bowed could be interpreted. Thus, he adhered to the protocol as much as he needed to while bending it when it suited him to project the right kind of arrogance he wanted. It wasn't too domineering without being weak at all.
"Noble lord, our humble city is proud to welcome you. This one is humbly referred as by the great Lord Wanghuo as Lady Gu Xue. How might we address you?"
In her gestures, Cao Yun sensed that she was respectful but not subservient. Although there was no Accomplished Demon in the entire city - the young man had just checked - they were under the protection of the Xinian Confederation and the Nalupu Kingdom. No one would be insane enough to attack the city. That being said, she didn't want to give any reason to Cao Yun to become violent. Among demons, even an unintentional insult could justify death under the right conditions. If she offended an Accomplished Demon, he might truly have a case in front of the Xinian Confederation to justify her death, or even to demand her to become his slave.
"You may refer to me as Lord Mo Yun."
Cao Yun didn't bow lower than necessary. Then, he called for his 'slaves'. While the Sunscale Sand Tortoises stayed behind, Xixue came forward. All the time, she kept her head slightly lowered. In her hands, she had a small wooden plank. On it, there were a few characters clearly written with blood.
Another servant of Gu Xue stepped forward. It took some time for the plank to be given, received and finally transmitted to Gu Xue. There was a name on the plank, Mo Yun. Along with the small plank, there were also a few papers. Those were the local currency. Obviously, the servant gave the money to Gu Xue in full. There was absolutely no doubt that this was a bribe. Although they were technically illegal, they had become a normal part of the protocol. Bribing officials was even an entire science by that point.
Later on, Xixue would need to give bribes proportionate to what she had given Gu Xue to each of her servants present today. Then, she would even need to bribe the guards at the gates and their superior. By bribing everyone with the proper amount, it ensured that no one could denounce anyone. Once again, there was no written rule on the amounts and yet everyone knew exactly how much was necessary. The amount she had given Gu Xue was so that she would not spread any news about Mo Yun.
And as soon as she was paid, Lady Gu Xue's attitude changed. It became warmer all of a sudden, without fear or apprehension. Then, Xixue added a few words.
"Welcome the great alchemist Lord Mo Yun. He deigned visit your city in order to offer you the chance of purchasing some of his pills. My master requires some estate to reside for the time during which he will honor you with his presence."
Hearing that he was an alchemist, the excitement in that old woman was obvious. The alchemist could tell that she was hoping to get some pills for herself. Most likely, she had hopes of becoming a full-fledged Accomplished Demon. That was possible with some very high pill of course. But to be honest, Cao Yun had no reason to help her become an Accomplished Demon. In fact, this would be bad for him overall. However, he could sell her some incredible pills nonetheless to cement his position.
They let Cao Yun and his group in the city.