Despite the clear indications of Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's weakness, his aura was still valiant. His blood was powerful and rich. Even though his voice was a bit hoarse, there was a strong sense of strength and pride in it too. No matter his age, he was a pillar of the tribes, the only demon in his generation and all current generations to have become an Accomplished Demon within the Desolate Dune Desert. Obviously, they had to show him respect. The only one who was reluctant about it was Patriarch Liang Lisheng. But even in his defiance, there were still shards of pure respect. After all, his own tribe valued strength above all.
"Some of you believe that we should just keep hiding, that we should just ride out the storm. Although I do understand your concerns, Chieftain Hong Yanxu, Chieftain Bing Mosha, my humble opinion is that you are gravely mistaken. You think that once the war of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy is over, the slave trade will die out and things will go back to what they were beforehand. Indeed, the Nalupu Kingdom needs our knowledge of the Desolate Dune Desert. But they don't need our freedom at all. Instead of enslaving us in mass to sell us, they could simply enslave us or even simply subjugate us to serve their own ends."
Chieftain Hong Yanxu stayed quiet and pondered over the several layers of meaning in his words. On the other hand, Chieftain Bing Mosha responded as soon as Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's voice quieted down.
"Venerable Chieftain, excuse my impertinence. I think that you are judging the Nalupu Kingdom too harshly. Only a handful of merchants resorted to this abominable trade. Combined with the fact that the slaves are sold to the God's Land, this allows Lord Wanghuo to deny any involvement. After all, enslaving demons without a just cause is illegal and even condemned by both the Nalupu Kingdom and the Sisters of the Abyss. If slavery on such a scale happened within the confines of our Desolate Sepulcher, no one would accept it. THis would blatantly go against every teaching of the Weaver of Souls!"
This time, Matriarch Ying Hua was also agitated after hearing all of this. Indeed, her tribe was very devout to the Weaver of Souls, but she wasn't directly part of the Sisters of the Abyss.
"I do fear that Venerable Chieftain Sha Chai Ren is correct in his assumptions. Despite the influence of the Sisters, the Nalupu Kingdom did commit such crimes already. Lord Wanghuo hides behind the excuse of ignorance when everyone knows precisely what's going on. After all, they all get the benefits of those crimes. Besides, they don't need to directly enslave us all, they could just enslave enough to keep all the tribes in check. And all that would happen in the Desolate Dune Desert. No one in the cities would ever witness it firsthand, so they could all keep denying it and live their life."
"In fact, the Sisters might be happy about this too. Recently, they've received more girls than ever."
Chieftain Feng Tian's words clearly upset her and she replied instantly.
"They are trying to save those girls! The Sisters of the Abyss are followers of the Weaver of Souls, don't think they are as vile as Lord Wanghuo or City Lord Sihe!"
"I am sorry if I offended you, Matriarch. However, it is undeniable that they are doing nothing to stop this serious crime against their own beliefs. And yet, they do benefit from it in some manner."
Before the debate could go out of hand, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren took over once more.
"Although those are just my fears, I do think that such a possibility is very likely. First of all, we have no idea how long it will take for the war to end so this slave trade could go on for decades. And even if it stops early, we could still be subjected to slavery or subjugation in many forms. Simply hiding and waiting for the storm to end is not a viable option. Then, we must find some way to end it on our own. And I sincerely believe that Mo Yun is the answer to it.
"Some of you pointed out that he might be working with or even for Boss Gui. I do not think that this is a particularly big issue. We all have ties to the Nalupu Kingdom. Hell, we indirectly do business with City Lord Sihe and Boss Gui themselves, as well as other slavers. So we shouldn't hold that over Mo Yun. In fact, his connections with Boss Gui could help us a great deal. We could get rid of the plight that is City Lord Sihe without directly upsetting Lord Wanghuo."
As he was speaking, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren's intent ostentatiously fell upon Patriarch Liang Lisheng. Thus, he was the first to answer, not even waiting for him to finish his thoughts.
"Chieftain, we want us to ally ourselves with Boss Gui in order to get rid of City Lord Sihe?! So you want us to become dogs, being used by Mo Yun?!"
"Patriarch Liang! You will not speak in such a manner to my father!"
"Oh?! Your father needs a little girl to speak for him?!"
"Silence!"
Suddenly, a powerful killing intent surrounded Patriarch Liang Lisheng. This time, his words had been faster than his thoughts and he realized it immediately. However, he simply couldn't move without risking an attack. He knew that even a wrong syllable could end up in a death battle.
"Patriarch, I have had enough of your insolence and disrespect! We all know that you do have ties with City Lord Sihe. But out of respect for your clan, your dead father and your illustrious ancestors, I put up with it. If you keep insulting any of us, I will ask on their behalf to punish their foolish and unfilial descendant."
"I apologize, Venerable Chieftain. My blood was too hot... Honorable Sha chai Gan, I also apologize. Brothers and sisters, Matriarch Ying Hua, my apologies extend to you all as well. The situation is serious and I lost my nerves in this occasion..."
Ignoring him, the conversation kept moving forward.
"Mo Yun stayed several months in our presence and he literally risked his life, and almost died, for us. I do not believe that he is using us at all. Maybe Boss Gui would like that. But I think he got closer to her for his own personal reasons, in order to gain more power and influence. In my opinion, he was already thinking about ways to help us in our plight. Suspecting him without any proof would be a terrible mistake."
"Then, what is your proposition, Venerable Chieftain?"
"I do think that our most viable option would be to show our strength against City Lord Sihe to establish ourselves as a great power, just like any other city state. Then, we could try and negotiate with the Sisters of the Abyss. They have always respected our claims over the Desolate Dune Desert. Although I can't know everything that is going on within the Monastery of Bliss and Repose, I do think they are our best choice. If we can show our strength, get both Boss Gui and the High Mother behind us to negotiate with Lord Wanghuo, we do have a chance. Even the Nalupu Kingdom cannot officially recognize the current state of the slave trade. In fact, we could use City Lord Sihe as a scapegoat. The Nalupu Kingdom could pin all the crimes on him. Maybe the slave trade wouldn't die down, but it would greatly diminish."
A bit timid, Chieftain Bing Mosha decided to answer once more.
"What Venerable Chieftain Sha Chai Ren says makes a lot of sense. However, you do realize that this could also give the Nalupu Kingdom the justification to attack us on a large scale. They could construe our attack on City Lord Sihe as a rebellion. Enslaving and eradicating us would thus be justified. Besides, there is another problem. Controlling our own tribes and clans will be difficult. After all that we had suffered, many are out for blood. However, if we go too far, Lord Wanghuo will simply slaughter us all. Against him, we have no choice, unless the High Mother intervenes on our behalf."
"I do agree that those risks are real. This is the main problem in fact. We can't go too far if we wish to negotiate, but our own sons and daughters are reaching the end of their patience. In all honesty, Mo Yun's arrival is a problem in itself. More and more worship him as Tie Po's literal return. No matter his stance, this could push them toward more and more violence. We can't go down that road or we would all die."
"The situation is indeed perilous, I won't lie about it. However, I do not see a better solution right now. Brothers, Sisters, if any of you has a better option, please speak."
The only one who almost answered was Patriarch Liang Lisheng. However, this time, he knew better than to speak his real mind. There was no way he would go against City Lord Sihe. In fact, he might even protect him to earn his favors.
"I won't force any of you to join. That being said, my Sand Wolves Tribe will follow Tie Po. We will do everything we can to end the slave trade."
"With all due respect, Venerable Chieftain, it is easier for you to say. After all, City Lord Sihe already found your settlements once. If you do nothing, your tribe will probably end up like the Lotus Tribe. But my Sun Scorpion Clan has much more to lose, and so have the other tribes and clans represented here today. You claim that you're not forcing us. On the other hand, you use Tie Po's name, knowing full well that it will put a lot of pressure on us. Our own sons and daughters will ask us why we don't follow the second coming of Tie Po."
"This time, I do agree with Patriarch Liang Lisheng, even though I sense more nefarious intentions behind his words. Venerable Chieftain, we should talk more about this entire situation. Whether we follow you or not, we will all be caught in the storm you'll cause. Please, understand our hesitation."
For several days, this council of chieftains stayed under the same tent. They barely had any rest discussing the current situation and how to respond to it. Unfortunately, for a very long time, the discussion didn't seem to go anywhere. Each time sometime was swayed by an argument, another argument changed their mind once more. Despite his intentions, Chieftain Sha Chai Ren needed some support. Even if he had said his Sand Wolves Tribe could go alone, he was in dire needs of allies. On the other hand, no tribe or clan was in such a desperate situation right now. They would probably end up in it at some point. But everyone was hopeful they could indeed simply hide and wait for the end while other tribes suffered.
-
While all of that was taking place, Cao Yun was simply sleeping in the same large room he had been in since the battle. He was in the personal quarters of Chieftain Sha Chai Ren who was trying to convince the major chieftains to join him. Oblivious to all of that, the young man could only barely feel Xixue's presence by his side. In fact, she had almost never left while many had come and gone including Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, his daughter, his generals and his servants.
Cao Yun's consciousness had mostly returned but he was still too weak to move around. As such, he made sure that his surroundings were safe and then focused on his sea of consciousness. First of all, he decided to observe his Turbid Demons. His Flying Poison was fully under his control, but the Unclean Evil and the Stinking Lungs were another problem. Clearly, he felt it had been a mistake to try and cultivate the two of them together at the same time. Ironically, the emotions he had felt were probably enough to work on his Corpse Dog as well, which was related to fear. But he was not reckless or stupid enough to do such a thing before he had at least the Unclean Evil under his control for sure.
When he had thought he was going to die, Cao Yun had realized that he was more afraid about his sister and his family's legacy than himself. The faces of his friends had also appeared. Although he didn't want to work on his Corpse Dog yet, he made sure to keep those feelings in mind. They were not pleasant at all, but they would be helpful in the future. Moreover, he was unfortunately certain that he would have even more reason to be afraid along the way.
Observing his sea of consciousness, Cao Yun was quite pleased with himself in fact. He had risked a lot, but he had also pushed his understanding of the spear to the point where he had entered the Spear Intent state. Furthermore, his 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' had also improved as the Neck Constellation was now fully formed. There remained five constellations for him to develop. The next one was the Root Constellation. Now that he had felt the process, it would only be a question of time and diligence.
In his body, the Drop of Wrath had helped him regenerate faster than before. In fact, his main concern was that he had depleted almost all of his Qi. Even now, he couldn't absorb it too fast or he would risk injuring himself. At first, he would need to go slow, but he was convinced he could recover completely in less than three months, especially if he used array formations. However, if he simply absorbed Qi in great quantity in the middle of the settlement, everyone would notice he was a human. This added an extra layer of difficulty to his situation.
Although he was grateful to be alive, he was also wondering what had happened. In his last moments of consciousness, he had clearly seen that this was the end. Xin Zhe should have killed him. And yet, someone else had killed her in an instant before leaving right away. Obviously, the identity of that person was a huge problem. Not only was that person much more powerful than Cao Yun, but they also knew that he was a human. By now, whoever they were working for knew about him.
Finally, after several weeks spent sleeping, Cao Yun stood up on his bed. Surprised at first, Xixue was ecstatic.
"Master! How are you?"