Seeing the metallic cylinder, Tu Jianhe's first instinct was to escape. But he could feel the bodyguards' killing intents on him. Besides, Mo Yun was a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon. If he tried to run away, he would be killed on the spot. The same thought went through his comrades' mind. At least, it went through the Silver Conch's owner. Indeed, their last comrade was still under the effect of Cao Yun's mental attack. Because he was only a late Golden Blood Child, he had no way of really defending himself against such an attack. In fact, if Cao Yun had used 'Weeping Demon' alone, he might have since demons had very powerful will. But by using his Flying Poison, this attack was literally affecting his soul, not just his conscious mind.
The irony was that if the three men had united against Cao Yun, they might have had a small chance of overpowering him. Although they were not warriors, they were all late Golden Blood Children after all. Of course, in a fight, Cao Yun would have had the advantage but the difference in strength was quite big and even he couldn't be sure of the outcome. That was why he had set up array formations all around the city and in the Silver Conch in particular. As soon as they had chosen this place for their takeover, this was doomed to fail. Furthermore, Cao Yun had easily convinced the bodyguards to join his ranks after freeing them from the Slavery Brand. However, he still had to keep up the act. He had to look like a legitimate Accomplished Demon.
Because his enemies were convinced he was one, they had completely discarded the idea of running away or attacking him. With all their forces outside, they would be able to put up a very good fight. Despite all his preparations, Cao Yun probably couldn't stop an entire city. Of course, he would be able to escape though, especially with his stealth. Indeed, there were no Accomplished Demons in this town as it wasn't that important. But a fight would clearly reveal his real cultivation. And the time he had already spent trying to build up a legitimate persona would be wasted. Worse than that, it would take him even longer to get something else to work. And living in hiding wouldn't be good for his cultivation either. Maybe he could join the nomad tribes but he wasn't sure how they would welcome him.
His plan for the nomad tribes required them to slowly trust him. Right now, they had no reason to believe his words about stopping slave hunts. After all, even as an Accomplished Demon, he was weak compared with Lord Wanghuo, the Sisters of the Abyss or the Xinian Confederation. And all three were benefiting from the large supply of slaves.
Anyway, Cao Yun didn't show any doubt on his face. Instead, he was looking at his would-be blackmailers with ridicule in the eyes. Obviously, they took it as the mark of his superior strength. If they showed any sign of revolt, he would crush them. And as much as they didn't want to become his slaves, they didn't want to die either. Hell, he might torture them until they accepted to be branded.
Tu Jianhe already had vivid images in mind. Because he had done so to many people, he could imagine what Cao Yun was going to do to him. Threatening horrible people was very effective as they had clear pictures of what could be done to them since they had visited those sordid acts on others before.
Suddenly, Tu Jianhe fell to his knees and literally hit his pimple on the floor, begging for Cao Yun's mercy.
"Noble Lord, I was mistaken! I was beguiled by this villain."
For an instant, the Silver Conch's owner thought he was being thrown to the wolves. But then, he realized that Tu Jianhe was pointing his finger to the only man who could not defend himself right now. As much as he didn't want to debase himself in such a way, he decided to follow Tu Jianhe's example and fell to his knees as well. However, he wasn't able to show as much 'sincerity' by hitting his forehead while kowtowing.
"This stupid, worthless one had eyes but couldn't see your grandeur. An alchemy genius such as you would never stoop so low as to brand insignificant characters such as us, poor vermin."
The smug smile of Tu Jianhe had completely disappeared. Even Cao Yun was dumbfounded by the sudden change. This man knew how to adapt to survive. At least, he had to give him that. Pressing his advantage, Cao Yun stood up, intensifying his spiritual pressure on everyone in the room. His array formations were also helping with that. For them, it was obvious that Cao Yun was indeed a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon. The current situation had several purposes.
Cao Yun had completely engineered the story about him running away from City Lord Sihe. By feeding some lies here and there, it had worked very well. His goals were simple in that. City Lord Sihe's city was very far away from Ruohe so no one could easily check anything about that. But it would cement his mastery of seals in everyone's mind. After all, City Lord Sihe was known as a seal master. In fact, most of the Slavery Brands came from him.
There were other uses for that rumor. For example, it gave those people the feeling that they had something over Cao Yun's head. So they didn't look for anything else. And by his current actions, Cao Yun was making sure that they all thought this was the secret he was keeping. While, in truth, he was hiding that he simply never existed in the Desolate Sepulcher. If the story was to come out, as it would probably do at some point, everyone would buy it, rather than some tear in space that had brought a human here who could cultivate like a demon. That tale was so outlandish that no one would buy it. The ironic part was that even if City Lord Sihe tried to deny it, people wouldn't trust him. They would naturally think that he was trying to cover up something.
That rumor was perfect for Cao Yun. Besides it would also improve his value in the eyes of Boss Gui if she heard about it. Since Cao Yun had no intention of enslaving everyone, or putting soul seals in them, bits and pieces of that rumor would spread to some important characters. Moreover, City Lord Sihe's city was so far it wouldn't be a problem in the upcoming year while Cao Yun would slowly build his strength. And he already had plans for this City Lord Sihe. After all, he had hired Xixue. Since he was an expert in seals, despite all his precautions, Cao Yun wasn't so sure he could hide her. So City Lord Sihe could become a problem anyway.
"Tu Jianhe, I can forgive your attempt to take over my business. After all, I did intend to do the same thing to you tonight. Everything you did, you did because I allowed you. Remember that. But I have no reason to trust you."
"Noble Lord is speaking the pure truth. You are so majestic that even the sun rises only with your permission. This insignificant one would never dare do anything without your blessing. I can swear on my own blood... Hell, on my own bloodline! I will never betray you, Noble Lord."
"Then, there is no reason why you should refuse a Slavery Brand, is there?"
Right now, Tu Jianhe was sweating so much that there was a puddle on blood and sweat under his forehead still crushed to the floor. He truly was trying to pass off as pathetic. And it was working very well. Even his comrade was finding him pathetic. However, Cao Yun wasn't. Such a man was in fact quite dangerous. He would betray anyone just to save his own hide. Contrary to what he believed, Tu Jianhe wasn't reassuring Cao Yun, he was giving him reasons to kill him right here and now. But this wasn't in his plans, yet. Maybe he would have him killed some time later. But tonight, he needed him alive to take over Ruohe's business and then Ruohe itself.
On the other hand, the bit of defiance still in the Silver Conch's owner was to Cao Yun's liking. For some time, he locked eyes with him. Ultimately, the owner ended up lowering his gaze. But Cao Yun had seen a true fighting spirit. His current's humiliation was costing him a lot and Cao Yun liked his attitude. The other two though, would have to be taken care of in time.
While they were speaking, Cao Yun was already planting a seal in the idiot he had attacked first. Dian Mo was also helping him out, but he couldn't do much in his weakened state.
"Tu Jianhe, I am convinced."
His face hidden as he was still kowtowing, Tu Jianhe's eyes betrayed his relief. In fact, anyone could have seen that he thought this Mo Yun was an idiot if they had been able to see his grin. But Cao Yun's words were not over.
"Since you're ready to swear on your own bloodline, I will help you out with this."
Still kneeling on the ground, Tu Jianhe felt a powerful and burning presence on his lower back, where his Mingmen was, the door to his Golden Palace and his Golden Fate. Cao Yun's Unclean Evil entered his body and engraved something in his Golden Fate. The process was so quick, Tu Jianhe barely reacted. When he realized what had happened, it was too late. Taking advantage of his relief, Cao Yun had entered his body and put a seal in his very prenatal Jing.
"If you think about betraying your oath, your Golden Fate will crumble into dust and so will you."
This time, Tu Jianhe was shaking uncontrollably. Trying to feel what was going on in his own body, he did see those marks. To be more accurate, he was able to sense them. Since the seal had been engraved in his very essence, he could feel it in his entire being. Although he was no slave, he was completely under Cao Yun's control. Although he wasn't too knowledgeable about seals, he had a rough idea of what it was. If he tried to betray Cao Yun, his thoughts themselves would cause the seal to activate and he would die. As such, the young alchemist didn't have to hold any control over his seal, this would be Tu Jianhe's own intentions who would trigger it.
Then, Cao Yun turned toward the Silver Conch's owner.
"Because your fine establishment has been so good with me, I propose you to swear your allegiance to my Blazing Swallow. What say you?"
For a moment, there was doubt in his eyes, but the dignified man saw something in Cao Yun's face. He bowed deeply.
"I accept. This unworthy one learned his mistake. My Silver Conch will sign any contract Lord Mo deems necessary. And this unfilial one will swear on his ancestors' blood."
Such an oath was almost like swearing on one's Dao Heart. Breaking a vow like that could cause someone to birth inner demons. Although there was nothing really binding, unlike a seal, almost no one would break such a vow unless it was worth destroying their own future. Still, Cao Yun would never have trusted Tu Jianhe with such a vow, because of his current attitude. He was ready to do anything to survive, even for a single instant more. So he would break any vow no matter the consequences.
Finally, Cao Yun also left a seal deep in the last man's soul.
"I will have my assistant Xixue bring you our contract. But the gist of it is that you all work for my Blazing Swallow now. Most of your business won't be affected, except for you, Tu Jianhe. From now on, you won't enslave anyone at all, even if it is legal. I will have Miss Jie visit you shortly so that you free all the hunters you've tricked into servitude."
As he was speaking, Cao Yun could literally feel the delight in the bodyguards around him. He had earned their loyalty. But that didn't mean he would completely trust them. Indeed, if they learned he was human, he had no idea how they would react. But they would be great security for Ruohe. Apart from Xixue, and maybe Dan Yao, he had no intention of bringing anyone with him to Duma to meet Boss Gui. However, he wanted to make sure that this city would be loyal to him in the events to come. Although he had not all the pieces in mind, he had some plan for the Desolate Sepulcher. Even now, he was wondering if it was worth it as many people might suffer because of it. But he had made up his mind already. Hopefully, he would be able to minimize the damage. By gathering more information, it would be easier.
"To the outsiders, you will simply act as though you've been able to pressure me into your own contract. Like that, you can save some face. And no one needs to know that I actually control this city's business."
In fact, Cao Yun didn't intend to stop himself there, but they didn't need to know that. It would be better for him to control everything from the shadows. Tu Jianhe was simply too shocked to react. Finally, Cao Yun stopped his mental and soul attack. Their third comrade suddenly collapsed on the floor, lifeless. He was alive alright, but his soul was exhausted. It would take a few days for him to recover. And there would always be some trauma in his sea of consciousness. In fact, he would never be able to become an Accomplished Demon with this trauma. He would die with it.
After ironing out some details, Cao Yun let the men leave the isolated room. Tu Jianhe and the Silver Conch's owner acted as though it had been a good success. Their bodyguards were still following them. But they now knew that those were not bodyguards, those former slaves were now their wardens. Explaining the other man's condition took some convincing, but Tu Jianhe was very persuasive. Soon, everyone was convinced that the Blazing Swallow had been subdued. The truth was that they now all worked for Cao Yun without knowing it.
Now, Cao Yun had his sight set on Lady Gu Xue. Most of the rumors he had spread, he had done so through her.