Cao Yun was in some kind of trance. In his dream-like state, he was unable to control his own movements and no thought was able to penetrate his mind. He was simply present and observing. In front of him, the first thing that appeared and completely drowned his vision was this giant tree.
Before Cao Yun was the vastness of space, pure darkness with very few stars here and there. Yet, there was some powerful light that was being emitted by this tree. It was like a sun but in the shape of a large trunk with many branches. In real life, the light might have blinded even Cao Yun's eyes. But in this dream, he could see clearly through the light. The tree itself was gray and white. Here and there, one could see black patterns as though it had been struck by lightning and charred. Some branches were broken while others had been cut and lacerated.
But enough branches remained to form a complex web spreading all around the trunk. And those branches were going toward the stars. All around the tree were seven orbs Cao Yun didn't notice at first. But those orbs looked more and more like planets. Thanks to Emperor Nuwa, humanity knew the actual appearance of their own planet so Cao Yun could identify those easily. However, his eyes were swept away as he couldn't control his own movements.
He saw the roots of the tree disappearing into darkness as though they were outside of space. And as his eyes followed those roots, they caught other branches Cao Yun had missed because they were not emitting any light at all and had disappeared into the obscurity. However, those branches were clearly spreading toward Cao Yun's place. Finally, he rose into the air and saw that he was himself standing on an eighth orb.
As he rose higher and higher, he saw scenes of battle everywhere. Humans, demons and other creatures he couldn't name were fighting all over the place. Clearly, there were Immortal Beasts, but there were also creatures he had never encountered. Even through Cleansed Asura's documents, he had no idea what those creatures were. What he had learned from Cleansed Asura was that humans, asura and deva were the main intelligent beings everywhere in the universe and in other realms. But they were not the only ones. Most likely, they had really descended from the legendary Three Jade Saints. But not even Cleansed Asura had met one of them.
At some point, they had spread throughout reality and ruled countless worlds. But somehow, they were wiped out, leaving their descendants behind them. Humanity had not originated on the Piaolu planet. Most likely, they had arrived there at some point when they were stronger. Many more humans had spread all over the universe and even in other worlds. Considering how vast each universe was, it was difficult for low cultivators to even be aware of these vast populations.
Among the fighters, Cao Yun could recognize creatures that looked like humans but had features belonging to birds or to dragons. Here and there, he even saw moving trees fighting large demons. The fight itself was surreal. Before his eyes, he was watching as near Immortals were killing each other. And leading the humans and the demons, fighting side-by-side, were Demon God Da Mo and the Weaver of Souls. Although he couldn't know it from just his vision, somehow Cao Yun knew that this was a war of expansion.
Demon God Da Mo was leading his armies and his slaves to try and conquer this world. But the war got worse and worse. The crust of the planet began to crack. Pillars of magma erupted as thunderstorms razed down entire continents. The planet had turned into a hellish vision. No mortal living being could inhabit this world. In his thirst for conquest, Demon God Da Mo had eradicated an entire world. But it had not staved off his hunger. This was the real moment Fangzhi Hunpo realized his former friend had lost it.
As Cao Yun's eyes moved around uncontrollably, he saw the other orbs around the tree. They were all attached to it by some branches. But like the world broken by Demon God Da Mo's lust for conquest, those branches seemed to disappear just before those worlds. It would be almost impossible for someone on those worlds to see them. And among those orbs, Cao Yun recognized a blue sphere. Although it had slightly changed since then, this orb was undoubtedly the Piaolu planet. And it was trapped within the branches of this celestial tree.
Suddenly, Cao Yun's body was jerked upward. With incredible speed, he went through the burning and poisonous atmosphere of the world he had seen die. Just as he passed through the last layer of atmosphere, the world itself broke apart into many pieces. The spectacle was apocalyptic. Strangely, the absence of any sound made it even more ominous. Cao Yun could hear nothing at all, absolute silence just as a world was exploding into large chunks of dead rock. The branches all around those rocks appeared completely this time. The rocks slowly started to wither and turned into dust as though the branches were draining them dry. Just like that, a planet had disappeared.
Then, the young man found himself in the presence of Emperor Nuwa and the Weaver of Souls. Before them were detailed maps of the Piaolu planet. The landscapes had changed but Cao Yun could recognize them nonetheless. From that, he could also imagine how violent the Great War had been. Although the planet was naturally changing over time, some of those changes were simply impossible in the time frame he knew. Then, they had been caused by violent fight between powerful cultivators. Around Emperor Nuwa were her most trusted aides like the Four Saints or Ancestral Matriarch Huang Baifeng.
On those maps, there were many things. But Cao Yun was strangely drawn to small green cubes put at specific places. Somehow, he once again knew something he shouldn't have. Those were gateways to those other orbs held by the celestial tree, the Celestial Fusang Progenitor. They had to destroy all those gates so Demon God Da Mo had nowhere to run away. But there was also another reason, a reason the Weaver of Souls himself couldn't reveal to anyone else. He had been privy to a terrible secret. Hopefully, no one would need to learn about it if the gates were really closed, if all the branches were separated from the Piaolu planet.
Demon God Da Mo and the Weaver of Souls had used those gateways because time was contracted there. Apparently, the Piaolu planet wasn't fully encompassed by those branches. As a consequence, a single year on those other worlds could pass while a few decades had gone by on the Piaolu planet. Each world was a bit different. Besides, time was a complicated matter, even for such powerful cultivators. But this had answered Cao Yun's question. Because of their campaigns on those other worlds, they had ruled much longer than their natural lifespan. But there was no grand longevity secret. They had indeed lived around two millenniums only, but in places where time was contracted compared to the Piaolu planet. And many armies of slaves had died in those failed conquests.
Finally, Cao Yun was brought back to his own world. He was now witnessing the last fight of the Weaver of Souls. Demon God Da Mo was killing him. The two of them had taken on giant appearances. They were fighting each other with golden and crimson fire while calling forth thunderstorms. They even slashed through space. Demon God Da Mo absorbed the blood of thousands of demonic beasts to form a large halberd he threw toward his opponent. No matter how fast it was moving, it was unable to reach its destination as though space was expanding before it. Hymns and sutras erupted from the air all around Demon God Da Mo as his former friend was attacking his soul directly.
From the Weaver of Souls, many Turbid Demons appeared. In fact, there were one hundred and eight demons who emerged from his forehead. They submerged Demon God Da Mo. Without any hesitation, he grew additional arms to catch them. Several were crushed to blood and dust while an unfortunate inner demon was torn in half. His blood fell into Demon God Da Mo's mouth to quench his thirst.
The fight was absolutely terrifying. Now, Cao Yun knew exactly how the Weaver of Souls had died. Indeed, as the fight was ending, the poor demon had lost a huge part of his blood. Just like Cao Yun, his blood was so heavy that it was hard to make it flow. Yet, his blood was indeed flowing like a river. As soon as it touched the ground, his heavy blood sunk deep. Knowing how far the Monastery of Bliss and Repose was, Cao Yun was impressed that his blood had been thrown all the way there. In a desperate move, the Weaver of Souls decided to ignite his very bloodline. Through his entire body, his blood turned into fire. Above his head, there was now a crown made of the corpses of his seven Turbid Demons.
It broke apart and flew toward Demon God Da Mo. The tyrant had been able to take his blood halberd back. With that weapon, he destroyed some of the pieces but a few still penetrated him and sunk into his flesh, poisoning him. After this fight, the Weaver of Souls was dead but Demon God Da Mo was weakened. Maybe, the old asura had been the reason why Emperor Nuwa had won in the end, without giving her own life like he had. Even then, she had been helped by so many people. This proved how strong Demon God Da Mo had truly been.
Although Cao Yun could not be sure that those visions were absolutely accurate, he did believe them. There were a few differences between them and the official history. But obviously, some things would never be written down, or not the way they had really happened. Having an asura help free mankind didn't seem to be a good story to tell in order to create a strong sense of unity among humans. Indeed, the demons had been used as this symbol of evil who wanted to subjugate or annihilate mankind.
After learning and seeing so much, Cao Yun did not regret his trip. However, he found out that he was still trapped in his dream. Then, a sudden pain seized his head. In his sea of consciousness, his attempt at reproducing the calligraphy from the Weaver of Souls was burning. It was being altered without his consent. As it was happening, his very soul was being altered too as though someone was moving around his bones and his flesh was being dragged along with them. The pain was intense but Cao Yun focused on his Soul Embryo. He didn't want it to be injured in any way. As much as he could regenerate his flesh, he couldn't regenerate his soul. Within his soul, the Soul Embryo was the weakest and most important part so he focused on protecting it.
Before long the pain was gone. Cao Yun realized that the calligraphy was now almost identical to the real thing. Better than that, the different parts were in fact improvement. With that, his mind and soul cultivation would be even easier. There was no doubt that he had seen the Weaver of Souls' memories and that they were currently affecting his very mind. Fangzhi Hunpo's body had been dead for a long time. His very soul had died. A tiny bit of his intent had survived in his blood and Cao Yun had recovered it.
Apparently, this intent had reacted to those memories. By the time it was done, it had completely dispersed. Thankfully, Cao Yun had left a sliver of it in the Blood Abyss for the Sisters of the Abyss. But what little intent he had taken with him was now completely gone. It had improved his mind cultivation using itself as fuel.
Unfortunately, Cao Yun was still trapped in this dream. Now, everything was black as any intent from the Weaver of Souls was gone. But that also meant the the intent couldn't bring Cao Yun out as it had probably brought him in. As such, he had to find his own way out. And for that, he would be forced to use violence.
Circulating his 'Cultivation of Wrath', Cao Yun mobilized the Turbid Demons within the Drop of Wrath. As he was now trapped in a world of pure darkness, he was legitimately afraid. Thus, his Corpse Dog was powerful. And under Cao Yun's efforts, it materialized in his dream. Even in this absolute darkness, Cao Yun could see its shape. It was a very large wolf. Despite being emaciated to the point where one could see its bones under its skin, this Corpse Dog had very heavy gray fur all over its body. The fur was falling down on its body like a coat too heavy and too large for it. There was something absolutely grotesque with that creature.
Before it could do anything though, chains appeared all around it and sealed any movement of it. Cao Yun's Five Aspects appeared all around the Corpse Dog. Then, the Nine Soul Peaks emerged from the darkness. Soon, the Drop of Wrath's bloody light also spread throughout the darkness. Gradually, this blood was overtaken by gold, then by the azure of the sky. Over time, Cao Yun's full sea of consciousness reappeared. The Corpse Dog was powerless against those chains and it found itself dragged into another of the Nine Soul Peaks. At the same time, a new character was forged in the Drop of Wrath thanks to Po the Metal Corporeal Soul.
Cao Yun had officially subdued his fourth Turbid Demons and was now a 5th-grade Accomplished Demon. He would then need to work on the sixth one, the Fallen Arrow, the embodiment of the absence of meaning and purpose. It was the corrupted form of the Po of Yang, the brother of the Po of Yin which was related to the Corpse Dog. While the Corpse Dog was Water, the Fallen Arrow was Fire.
For the time being though, Cao Yun was more worried about something else. Although his sea of consciousness was back, he was still trapped in his own body, unable to move around. Having one's body as a prison was indeed horrifying to the point where it had pushed Cao Yun to master his Corpse Dog a bit faster.