"Boy, are you sure about that message you told those Moshu?"
"Well, my plan is risky to begin with. But if I'm able to reduce the trade of slaves in the entire Desolate Sepulcher, I will hurt the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Boss Gui provides many soldiers, but the crux of the problem is rather the number of workers. After slave soldiers are not necessarily the best fighters on the battlefield. However, they can be used in battle formations as they don't have any other choice that to obey or die in terrifying agony. That being said, the real threat comes from the Accomplished Demons and I'm not even sure there is a single slave who has reached that stage.
"On the other hand, stopping their supply of workers will strike a real blow into the theocracy. Obviously, slavery is appalling but I am no savior. I can't stop an entire system by myself in a few years. However, enslaving people without cause is already deemed illegal. It's just that the Nalupu Kingdom disregards this law completely. The fact that they didn't outright legalize it shows that they do care about appearances. Even Boss Gui makes sure that she has plausible deniability. So there is a way for me to get rid of that. Of course, I probably won't stop slavery completely, but I can live with that. This isn't my kingdom after all. If they want to get rid of this barbarism, they will have to do it themselves. That being said, I will give them the opportunity to do so."
"Do you intend to completely overthrow Lord Wanghuo?"
"I do not yet know. From what I heard, this will be very difficult. But if I want to commandeer a ship to go back to the main land, this might be my only acceptable option. I will not join as neither a slave nor a slaver, that's for sure."
"I see... But I still think it was unwise to tell them that you intend to take over this city and to get rid of slave hunters in the desert. What if they spread it?"
"I do want them to spread it among their tribes. And I can assure you that they will do everything so that no one else learns of that. Convincing tribes that have fled in front of slavers for so long and live rather isolated won't be easy. First, I need to earn a bit of their trust. By showing them that I am true to my word with Ruohe, this will achieve that. Of course, there are risks. But I could always discard my current identity. I made sure to create several of them thanks to Xixue. And I do intend to create other safeguards once I have more control of this city. By the way, the time has come. I have to go."
-
As Cao Yun had almost fully subdued his Unclean Evil, it was easier for him to pass off as a legitimate 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon. Besides, he had an incredible Golden Blood by now. With his 'Ashen Feather Seal' concealing his meridians, even a late Accomplished Demon would think he was what he claimed to be.
The Blazing Swallow had already opened. The very first day, they made more than any other shop in Ruohe. City Lord Gu Xue personally came to visit the shop. It was obvious that she was after something from Cao Yun. Thus, everyone knew that this alchemist was legit and consequently so was his shop. Moreover, his employees were extremely good and motivated. Even Xixue was more into it than usual. To be honest, Cao Yun truly wanted to manage the shop himself as he had done for his very informal shop in the Wubei Sect.
But he had to admit that those employees of his were much more competent and invested than he was. For him, this shop was just a means for an end he could discard if need be. For them though, it was the key to their freedom and to a better life. Seeing the success of their master's pill, not a single one of the current slave had any thought about leaving. They would buy their freedom of course, that was a no-brainer. But they would stay in Lord Mo Yun's service for as long as they could. Not only were they in a prosperous shop, but they also had access to pills that could push their cultivation forward. Fate had rewarded their crimes apparently.
Obviously, this caused a bit of unrest. Even some other merchants who didn't think Cao Yun was a threat were starting to reconsider.
-
All of that was already foreseen by Cao Yun. This city was small enough that no defense could stop him. In other words, he knew almost everything that was going on in Ruohe. Besides, he often walked through the city like he had done Qingyun City. And just like he had done back there, Cao Yun set up many array formations all over the place. Now that Dian Mo was conscious again, he was a great help with that. Cao Yun had even set up a few Heaven array formations around his own residence.
Outside, Cao Yun acted like a normal merchant. He often visited the most famous restaurant of the city, the Silver Conch. The name had struck him as strange as they were closer to the desert than to the ocean. But he had to admit that this was very good. Of course, he had known better, but he still enjoyed a different cuisine than the one he was used to. In less than a week, he had already tasted every dish there. Because they didn't want to lose his patronage, the restaurant asked the chefs to create new dish regularly for the young man. Everyone knew that Cao Yun dined there every other day. In fact, he even conducted some business meetings there.
The rest of his time was spent cultivating his mind cultivation as he was very close to forming his Unclean Evil. In fact, he even stopped the rest of his cultivation. With his Unclean Evil, controlling his Golden Blood would be even easier. And with the Golden Blood, his Qi cultivation would also improve faster. In fact, the Unclean Evil would speed up his Qi cultivation by itself since it was the Po of Qi. Thus, his mind cultivation was the best way to cultivate faster right now and he focused on it entirely.
When he wasn't cultivating, he was training Dan Yao. The young boy was not that talented. However, he was extremely curious and motivated. Working with him was always pleasant. At first, Dan Yao was completely terrified and petrified when Cao Yun was close to him. But as they developed a proper relation student-teacher, things changed. Dan Yao opened up more. Cao Yun could tell he was training extremely hard, but he truly lacked talent. Thankfully, his tenacity and obstinacy were enough for him to progress at a steady pace.
In a matter of weeks, he would officially be called an alchemist. And in his future, Cao Yun could see that he would become at least a 5-star Human alchemist. To be fair, as much as he grew to like the boy, he didn't think he could reach the last rank of Heaven alchemist. But there was no need to tell him that at all. In a decade or two, many things could happen. Maybe by cultivating his blood, he might even improve his alchemy. After all, one's mind would also improve with cultivation and his main problem was that he had a lot of difficulties when it came to forming link between ideas. He was able to quote almost anything Cao Yun had told him or had him read. But when it came to apply it in real situations, in less academical settings, it was hard for him.
Maybe experience alone would remedy that. But anyway, Cao Yun knew that this boy would become good over time. That being said, he specifically trained him on a certain number of pills he knew he would need. Like that, Dan Yao might be able to take over the pill production when Cao Yun would be away. In fact, he was starting to wonder whether he should leave him in Ruohe or take him with him to Duma. At first, he only needed someone to replace him in Ruohe, but his plans were always evolving as things changed and new information appeared.
-
While things were going well for Cao Yun in Ruohe, the Moshu survivors he had let go found a small tribe they had had some dealings with. They told the men who found them that they had been enslaved and saved by a powerful Accomplished Demon. And that this great demon had a message for their leaders. After verifying that they were no traitor, were not being pursued, and had no seals in them to either track them or cause any damage to their tribe, they brought them to their leaders.
Those were all Golden Blood Children. Even the oldest of the leaders had not yet reached the Accomplished Demon realm. Obviously, they were shocked when they heard the full story. An early Accomplished Demon could completely erase a Slavery Brand without any consequence and in so little time... Besides, he claimed that he would stop the slave hunts that were plaguing them. For them, it was too good to be true. However, they obviously took note of this. And like Cao Yun had imagined, they decided to hide his real identity as much as possible for the time being.
Word spread throughout all the tribe, going to the very heart of the Desolate Dune Desert. In half a year, all the tribes of the desert knew about some great Accomplished Demon who was campaigning for them. The reactions were very diverse. But the general attitude was to wait and see. As men who lived in the desert, they were familiar with that attitude and they wouldn't change easily. But if they had an Accomplished Demon with them, it might indeed change things. Once again though, how much could an early Accomplished Demon alone achieve?
While the desert tribes heard of Cao Yun, renamed Tie Po to hide his real name, others heard some tales. But they were not about a powerful Accomplished Demon who had freed some slaves. No, they were about an alchemist in a small city. The ones hearing of this tale were all old women.
If Xixue had been there, she would have immediately recognized the robes of the Sisters of the Abyss. A few old women wearing the same kind of black and red robes were listening to a younger sister. While all those older women were Accomplished Demon, one of them was even a 7th-grade Accomplished Demon. She was the High Mother, leader of the Sisters of the Abyss.
"Sister Xie, are you positive about your report? We summoned you to hear everything from your own lips."
Although she was from the same order, that Sister Xie was obviously terrified of her current situation. In front of her were the great leaders of her order as well as the supreme leader, the High Mother. She knew that the wrong sound or the wrong intonation could cause problems for her. She had to tell exactly what she had seen without adding anything but without subtracting anything either.
"High Mother, I swear on my blood that my report was truth. I was positioned in Ruohe recently to observe City Lord Gu Xue. While I was there, a young alchemist entered the city. Even before he entered the city, I could feel something strange, but... Please pardon my inexperience, but I didn't think too much about it."
"Speak without fear of sanctions. We know you're still inexperienced. This is why you were sent to Ruohe and not to a big city. Do not pause, tell us what you felt."
"For an instant, I thought I felt the holy presence of the Source of Blood. But it was even... it was even purer than the Source itself. Obviously, I didn't want to believe it as it was also very weak. I simply thought that my training was lacking. However, when I saw this Mo Yun, I changed my mind. For several days I observed him. Although he's a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon, he almost discovered me so I quickly stopped spying on him before his suspicion could be arisen."
"What?!"
An old woman who wasn't the High Mother could not stop herself.
"One of our Sisters was discovered by an early Accomplished Demon?! This is impossible. Our blood is distilled and pure, even a middle or a late Accomplished Demon should have trouble sensing your presence from afar. Did you make a mistake during your investigation? Do not hide it from us! If you've made a mistake, this is still acceptable."
"I swear on my blood and my mother's blood, Mother Superior. He didn't find me out, of that I am certain. But he was very close to doing it."
"Please go on. What you wrote in your report, this is what I want to hear about."
"Of course, High Mother. This man is hiding it for some reason. but his blood is even purer than our Source of Blood. And it is strong and plentiful. I cannot fathom the origin of his bloodline. Even... even High Mother's bloodline is inferior to his."
"Blasphemy!"
"Sisters!"
The older women were almost ready to tear apart their younger Sister when the High Mother stopped them with a word. The poor Sister Xie was trembling, kowtowing before her superiors.
"I can tell that your words are true. What you've done today is a great deed indeed. You will be rewarded for your caution. Warning us first was the right decision. We will have to think deep on the matter. If such a man exists, we have to get his blood, one way or another. You may leave, Sister Xie."
Those last words were a bowl of fresh air for Sister Xie. She came back to live when she was finally able to leave this intense room. And just as she left, the High Mother waved her hands. Powerful array formations activated again behind Sister Xie.
"Sisters, if this man hides his blood, he will not be discovered by others. We have time to act. No one must learn of that fact. I don't know why he hides his blood but no demon can hide his bloodline from our eyes. The mere fact that he exists proves that he doesn't come from the Desolate Sepulcher."
"Do you think he came here with one of the slave boats?"
"We'll have to find out. First, we'll gather as much information on him as possible, then we'll act."