As she could sense the tension in Cao Yun's muscles, Hongyu was also getting herself ready. With the thick odor of blood everywhere as well as the few corpses and limbs scattered across the sand, she was thirsting for some action. Given the violence of the fight, even the Moon Sheltering Adansonia's roots had no time to take in all the spoils now flowing on the battlefield. Several Gloating Thunder Vultures had been killed as well as many more demons. While Cao Yun didn't care at all for either their possessions or their bodies, Hongyu was hungry as the smell was reaching her.
Moreover, even if their weapons and artifacts were pretty much useless to Cao Yun, they could still be useful to the Sand Wolves Tribe. So he might as well try to gather a bit of them. At the same time, he didn't want to risk his life for so little. If he was too greedy, he could also be forced to reveal his full strength to the three liberated slaves. At the same time, flying away without taking anything might also alert them. As an Accomplished Demon, he should be able to take care of those weakened Gloating Thunder Vultures and demons, as well as the Moon Sheltering Adansonia. Even if he wasn't specialized in fighting, that should have been possible for him, but then the three of them were exhausted and didn't know that much about Accomplished Demons. The mere fact that they could fly unassisted made them almost divine in their eyes.
Using their exhaustion, Cao Yun sent some surges of Qi and spiritual senses around them. Before long, they fell in a deep slumber. At the very least, they would not witness anything. Although he wanted people to spread his name in the tribes, he couldn't afford to look weak so he didn't take any risk. Considering what they had already seen, they would probably believed whatever he would tell them afterwards, especially if he was able to get some important things.
Right now, Cao Yun's main goal was the leader of those elite soldiers. Unfortunately, he wasn't too injured compared to his allies.
Finally, the Gloating Thunder Vultures and the Moon Sheltering Adansonia were going for the kill. The branches of the Moon Sheltering Adansonia rose toward the sky where the light of the moon was stronger. From a perfect dome, it had become a broken mess because of the onslaught of the demons. Now, it took on the appearance of inverted roots. And the demons could imagine what the roots beneath the sand looked like as well, all ready to pierce through them. A literal forest of bloodthirsty pales were waiting below them and they couldn't fly at all.
The Gloating Thunder Vultures also landed on some of the branches that were waiting for them. The demonic beasts and the white tree had been working in unison for a very long time. Since the tree couldn't move around, the Gloating Thunder Vultures sometimes brought in preys for it to feed on their blood. On the other hand, the Moon Sheltering Adansonia was protecting the Gloating Thunder Vultures and could kill many more victims, but only if they got too close to it. In fact, the Moon Sheltering Adansonia was also sending sweet odors in the air to attract some preys. But of course, it had had no reason to do so against those demons. In fact, it had expressly not done so because it didn't want to give them any reason to have any doubt at all.
As it had demonstrated so earlier, the Moon Sheltering Adansonia was able to show a great intelligence. Contrary to the demonic beasts, it had no real mind of its own yet. But its strategy was still extremely smart nonetheless. With enough blood and Qi, this tree could slowly form an independent mind though.
The white tree's branches finally reached the dark thunderclouds. It really looked like the branches were thunderbolts sent down by the clouds themselves. Suddenly, the Gloating Thunder Vultures screeched. Even Cao Yun was forced to put up a powerful Wei Qi to resist this attack. He also sent more Qi to protect those he had just saved as the pressure of the sound alone could rupture their organs. On the other hand, the elite soldiers were manifesting the Qi in their blood. Behind them, there was a large blood demon with the head of a furious bull covered in an armor of bones. This Qi Manifestation had four arms. Two of them were holding a drawn bow while the other two were wielding a scythe and a cudgel. Both weapons were made out of bones as well and he could wield each one with a single bulging arm.
All over the body of that creature, there were seals and blood runes. On the ground, the soldiers were using various martial arts but they were all complementing each other.
Just after the sound attack, lightning from above and roots from below formed a vast forest trying to kill the demons trapped between those two perils. At the same time, the Gloating Thunder Vultures dove toward their preys. They didn't even try to dodge anything as the roots and the lightning were all perfectly directed toward their enemies without endangering them at all.
The giant bull creature stomped and struck down with its cudgel toward the ground. The sand was sent flying all over the place as many roots were broken. In the air, the bull slashed with its scythe and literally cut apart some of the lightning, the clouds above were also sliced in two. Finally, its bow shot several arrows who looked like bull horns. All of them were directed to the Gloating Thunder Vultures. This time, they were forced to dodge those projectiles, but a few vultures were struck down. Only one died in this attack while others were only injured.
As the final clash was about to happen, something changed suddenly.
From above the dark clouds, the roar of a dragon resounded. Some thunderclouds were sucked in toward some sort of whirlwind. Then, the figure of a fully manifested Azure dragon appeared. Above him, almost hiding the moon, there were seven bright stars. The Azure dragon dove toward the ground, coiling around the roots and the branches. It wasn't trying to attack either the Moon Sheltering Adansonia or the Gloating Thunder Vultures. However, its gaze was set on the demons.
Surprised by the sudden interruption, the demons were stunned long enough to put them in danger. Thankfully for them, their leader was able to react in time. The archers were ready to deal with it while a few were putting up a defense. However, the real threat wasn't this Qi Manifestation.
All of a sudden, Cao Yun threw his spear. 'Fish in the Galaxy'! His 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' crossed a vast starry ocean and struck the leader in the waist. Instantly, he lost a leg and was thrown away by the impact. Cao Yun had poured his Spear Aura in this attack and was very close to reaching Spear Intent. Indeed, by focusing his Spear Aura on a single point, he was starting to understand how to really wield it and focus it as he wanted. Although the leader was seriously injured, Cao Yun was now fully revealed to all.
With their leader down, the soldiers' Qi Manifestation got weak enough for Hongyu to dive down. Using his spiritual senses and his Qi, Cao Yun sent surges of Qi on several body parts on the ground as well as a few artifacts, taking them all in his spatial ring. Several arrows whistled near him and a scythe tried to cut Hongyu in half. However, the young human was ready for this attack and the demons were also dealing with the Gloating Thunder Vultures and the roots from below. Now that they were distracted, their enemies didn't show them any mercy.
In the chaos and confusion, Cao Yun was able to take the leader away. Of course, he tried to resist but Cao Yun struck him with a palm from 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath'. Some of the intent from the Drop of Wrath entered his bloodstream and his lost control over his own blood for some time. Thanks to that, he couldn't put up much of a fight, especially considering how exhausted he already was.
Happy with his prey, Cao Yun flew away as fast as he could while hearing the violence of the fight in the distance. The Gloating Thunder Vultures didn't try to stop him at all, not even the Moon Sheltering Adansonia. Although they had lost a prey, they were not too greedy. If Cao Yun had appeared earlier, they might have chased. But by now, they were too exhausted and simply wanted to enjoy the demons they had fought. They were not ready for another battle yet.
-
When the sun rose again, Cao Yun was holding the leader of this group. He had already put several seals in his body and had also tended to his wounds. After all, he didn't want him to die while he still had questions for him.
Among the seals, there were many meant to prevent him from killing himself or even manipulate his blood at all. Right now, his entire bloodstream was perfectly controlled by Cao Yun's Drop of Wrath. In fact, Cao Yun could literally kill him with a thought by sending all of his blood in his major organs so they would blow up from the pressure alone. But, once again, he had no reason to kill that man yet.
"No matter what you want from me, I won't submit! You won't learn anything from my mouth!"
"Oh?! Maybe you still think the seals in your sea of consciousness will protect you from me, but they won't! I've already taken them out."
Behind Cao Yun, the three former slaves were also admiring their former master being tormented in his turn. They were overjoyed at the sight. But they were even more ecstatic when they saw the realization in his eyes. This Tie Po was more powerful than his grand master City Lord Sihe. Indeed, Cao Yun had taken out every seal in that man's body and sea of consciousness. Otherwise, his mind would have literally collapsed before he could answer any questions. And there had even been a seal meant to warn whoever had planted it in case of death. Now, Cao Yun could do whatever he wanted to this man and he had several ideas. But first, he needed answers.
On the side, Hongyu was devouring the last pieces of demons and vultures Cao Yun had been able to put in his spatial ring as he escaped the battlefield. The sight alone was horrifying to the man as he recognized arms and legs, even a handful of heads. Seeing his companions being devoured by a demonic beast was a huge blow to his morale. However, demons had impressive willpower. And this man was no exception. In fact, his willpower was even stronger.
"Do whatever you want with me, I won't speak! Grind my bones, pull out my tendons and nerves, let your best feast on my writhing flesh and blood. I won't betray my masters!"
"Well, I do believe you. Unfortunately for you, there are ways to diminish your will. What your master has done to those three, I will do to you."
The man's eyes bulged.
"Impossible! You can't..."
Just as he formed the thought, the man remembered that Cao Yun had really erased all the seals in his mind, but also in the seas of consciousness of those three slaves. That meant that he was probably on par with City Lord Sihe himself. Then, he remembered what he had heard. Although City Lord Sihe had denied it, there were rumors that a former associate of his had betrayed him and had joined Boss Gui. This man was Mo Yun, and this was probably the man in front of him.
Before he could think anything else, his sea of consciousness was invaded by Cao Yun's Flying Poison, Unclean Evil and Stinking Lungs. Although Cao Yun could not reproduce the same exact seal as the Three-Gated Government Palace, he had understood its main principles. By using three of his Turbid Demons, Cao Yun set up several seals that would also compartmentalize this man's sea of consciousness. Then, he used his own knowledge of the Upper Dantian to target certain areas with specific seals. From the man's sea of consciousness, nine bone pillars appeared, the equivalent to Cao Yun's Nine Soul Peaks. From those bones, golden chains emerged and dove into the infinite ocean below.
In that man's sea of consciousness, Cao Yun was able to extract some things. He had already formed some Insight Writings in his way of the spear. And they might be useful to Cao Yun's Spear Aura. Unfortunately, he was still unable to perform a thorough Soul Memory Search and Dian Mo was too weak to do so. Of course, Cao Yun might try to do it himself, but the risk of failure was too high.
With this complex seal, the man's mind was becoming hazy and his will was weakening. Even his eyes seemed a bit empty. Thanks to that, he would be easier to manipulate. And indeed, Cao Yun was able to extract a lot from him after several hours of interrogation.
By the end of the day, Cao Yun knew almost everything about the main force. There were around four hundred mercenaries and approximately seventy soldiers working directly under City Lord Sihe. But they had also added more than a thousand slaves to their force. And contrary to Cao Yun's intel, they were being led by an Accomplished Demon, a woman named Xin Zhe. She was a 2nd-grade Accomplished Demon who had trained in the art of seals under City Lord Sihe himself. Although she wasn't a fighter, she was exceptionally dangerous.
In fact, Cao Yun wasn't sure he could beat her when it came to mind and soul attacks. Fleeing might be a good idea indeed. But he still had other options. The mercenaries could be scared off and the slaves could be freed. There were really only seventy cultivators who would fight to the death. Those were the real danger. And above them, was this Xin Zhe. Cao Yun had already several plans to take them down. Although he had not extracted the man's memories, he knew almost everything about this main force. Unfortunately, there was little he could use in practice...