The atmosphere in Holy Hongxue City was extrely strange. The city itself had very standard architecture for the demon territories. In fact, it was a very ancient city that had once been the capital of a small kingdom. But during the invasion of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, the small kingdom fell and was quickly rged with the larger Yanbei Region. Then, the capital was raided, almost everyone slaughtered or enslaved. Very few demons were able to escape this massacre. Many statues and temples were destroyed or burned as well as the only school in the city, burned to the grounds with everyone inside trapped. After all that carnage, the Temple of Grace and Submission was sculpted in the very mountain that served as a natural border for the city. Unfortunately it had done nothing to help them defend their city.
Right now, Cao Yun could see that this city had almost no economy. Everything was turned toward the Heavenly Demon God Faith. Despite all the pilgrims visiting the Holy Hongxue City, no one was really profiteering from them. On the other hand, religious zealots were trying to push even more fanaticism on them. In other words, this city was ant to increase the religious hold of the Heavenly Demon God Faith on the population. There was no other purpose to this city. And so people were clearly terrified of being seen as not devoted enough to Demon God Da Mo and the Empyrean Asura.
At so point, Cao Yun saw a public debate between two old n. Each one was trying to defend a different position. One of them thought that Empyrean Asura was the new incarnation of the Demon God Da Mo as the Heavenly Demon God was a cosmic entity that could incarnate itself in a variety of entities. On the other hand, the white-haired elder facing him was arguing that Demon God Da Mo was the only physical embodint of the Heavenly Demon God and Empyrean Asura was only an apostle trying to bring him back in not just spirit but flesh and blood as well. The debate went on for so ti. But it was absolutely obvious that each one was absolutely terrified of being labeled an heretic and they were extrely careful with their words.
Since Cao Yun had already absorbed the mories of various demons, he knew most of their argunts. Nothing really surprised him. However, Dian Mo's reaction was relatively different.
"Morons! All of those clowns are so pathetic! My master would have flayed them alive for speaking such nonsense. Don't they have anything better to do with their lives?!"
The more they talked about Demon God Da Mo, the more upset Dian Mo beca.
"What?! Those cretins weren't there during the Blood and Dirt Era! If my master had been so cosmic entity, he wouldn't have been beaten by that wench! What are they even on about?! Just end my sufferings, right now! For pity's sake!"
Dian Mo was arguing with the two n as though they could hear him. But since they couldn't respond, he got more and more agitated. At so point, he was only spewing obscenities and insults their ways. Thankfully, no one could hear it but Cao Yun. And honestly he was quite amused by it. Dian Mo wasn't really defending Demon God Da Mo though. After all, even if Demon God Da Mo had created him, he had also left him trapped in the Palace of Supre Wisdom all his life. And recently, since Dian Mo had gotten attached to Cao Yun and had seen more and more of the world, his opinion of Demon God Da Mo had clearly plumted. That being said, hearing history being rewritten in front of him in such a way felt terrible enough that he had to argue against it even though it had no effect.
When Dian Mo was finally fed up with it, he simply shut up. Cao Yun walked away through the crowd. People literally moved out of his way without acknowledging his existence. With his stealth technique, most people couldn't even tell that Cao Yun was among them, and yet they felt compelled to let him pass.
-
In the Temple of Grace and Submission, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was talking with Yu Xiangling. She was a priestess of the temple. Unlike Ling Weisheng, she had no curve to show and was wearing very plain clothes. They clearly indicated that she was part of the temple but nothing else. Everywhere on her clothes though were various stains, most of them being from blood, but there were also other fluids and probably alchemical ingredients or preparations. Yu Xiangling had disheveled black hair falling all over her red face. Even though she was a late Golden Blood Child, this woman showed every sign of exhaustion. One could imagine how long she had been working for without sleep, and how hard she had been at that work.
Unfortunately, her work wasn't sothing anyone would want done except for Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng and the fanatic leaders of the Heavenly Demon God Faith.
"How is it going?"
"You're taking away from my work for a simple report?!"
Yu Xiangling clearly didn't care what Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was thinking of her. And she wasn't afraid at all in her presence. Neither was she flustered by her very revealing clothing or the body of the dead young man still lying in her bed. The poor boy was covered in bruises, scratches and welts. Apparently he had not been able to keep up with her. For Yu Xiangling this was a common occurrence. This Ling Weisheng was exhausting the slaves even faster than they could be bought and transported.
Before speaking again, Yu Xiangling clearly showed her exasperation with a profound sigh.
"Our cultivation of Death Energy goes faster than that of Ghost Energy. The Hun is clearly harder to work with. The new seals and runes are doing a good enough job, but the test subjects are simply running out too fast. Instead of burning people everywhere, you should send them to my laboratory, it would be a better use of resources. And the sa could be said of your toys..."
Yu Xiangling looked at the young corpse intently. Obviously, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was extrely upset with her behavior, but she couldn't do much against her. On the opposite, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng kept her composure to remain the holy priestess of the Temple of Grace and Submission.
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"Apart from that, I'm confident in the ti table I already gave you."
"It's not nearly as good as you think it is. There are threats moving against us. How many Supplicant Tyrants can you have at the ready for the mont?"
"Well, if you don't care how long they can stay active without deterioration, I could provide around twenty of them, depending on how the corpses react. But it would be a severe waste of resources as well. I don't think the Empyrean Asura would appreciate such delays..."
Hearing the Empyrean Asura's na was an obvious attempt at intimidating Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng. She knew it. But worse than that, she knew that this Yu Xiangling was absolutely right. On the other hand, if the Temple of Grace and Submission were to fall, this would be a disaster as well.
"We've already sent a request for reinforcents to the Saint Citadel Sidi. In the anti we'll need so protection. Instead of worrying about that, you should worry about your own work. Your Supplicant Tyrants were never able to exceed the 4th-grade Accomplished Demons. Most likely, the three we sent away have been killed."
"And you think I haven't been making progress?! I can push them toward being 5th-grade or even 6th-grade Accomplished Demons if they're very responsive to the Death Energy. But the Ghost Energy is becoming a more serious issue than we had initially thought, as I already told you. It's degrading their flesh faster than anticipated. Apparently, the resentnt of the test subjects against the procedures and those performing hem is turning against the Supplicant Tyrants. Their willpower is quickly exhausted and then they can't prevent the deterioration process. I need better test subjects already! Besides, I'll also need more of them to replenish the Tyrant Blood. What we used for this Gushing Blood Holy Heart pill was too much, as I told you as well! And apparently it went to nothing... You're just wasting resources everywhere!"
Despite her irritation, Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng was able to keep her composure and calm. It was too bad the young man was dead because she wanted to vent her frustration. She would have to find another slave to play with. If only this Yu Xiangling were to fail, she could finally get rid of her frustration on her. But for the mont, she was still favored by the Saint Citadel Sidi. And honestly, she was getting results. Only two other people had been able to understand the Holy Scriptures. So Ling Weisheng couldn't even punish her for her insolence or she would be dealt with accordingly.
"Fine. Just get as many Supplicant Tyrants ready as possible. I suspect that our temple will soon be under attack. Also work with the other priests to strengthen our defenses."
"Ridiculous! No one could decipher my seals! They literally co from the Holy Scriptures. And you think so outsider could see through them?! You're bordering on blasphemy here, Holy Cardinal!"
"For once, I won't let you free of your actions! No matter who is backing you up, this task is essential. I don't care if you think it's useless. Your Supplicant Tyrants were annihilated and a threat is coming for us. I want the Temple of Grace and Submission to be impenetrable, period! Rember that you are here as well. If our temple falls, you'll die too."
"Pathetic attempt at intimidation. You'll all lay your lives before seeing dead. Otherwise, you know the tornts the Empyrean Asura and the Holy Demon God will visit upon you. But, fine, I'll go through the defenses once more."
Upset, Yu Xiangling left the chambers of Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng before she was allowed to leave and without adding any word. However, the Holy Cardinal distinctly heard her whispering, grumbling about the situation.
"Stupid wench...!"
-
Satisfied with his preparations, Cao Yun went directly toward the Temple of Grace and Submission. He now knew perfectly the layout of the Holy Hongxue City and where the various array formations were. Compared with the Desolate Sepulcher, those demons knew much more about array formations. In fact, they were probably on par with the accumulated knowledge of the Hongchen Kingdom. On certain aspects, they were a bit superior while being inferior on others. All in all, humans and demons were on an equal footing. However, Cao Yun was superior to them with his knowledge. And with Dian Mo assisting him, no array formation could conceal any secret. Cao Yun was able to see through them as though they had been set up by a rank amateur. But he could clearly see that the ones behind them had been competent enough, probably 2 or 3-star Heaven array formation masters.
When he got close to the Temple of Grace and Submission though, it changed. The array formations were much more intricate and mingled with seals and even blood runes. Those array formations were not just manipulating Wandering Qi, they were also using energies from the souls, naly Death Energy and Ghost Energy. In fact, Cao Yun also felt hints of Evil Qi. Honestly, it was very rare. Most array formation masters couldn't even work with Evil Qi as it was too corrosive and would slowly destroy the foundations of their array formations.
What truly surprised Cao Yun though was the use of both Death Energy and Ghost Energy. That being said, only Death Energy was heavily used.
Evil Qi was simply Qi intertwined with negative emotions, mostly coming from the Po during or just before death. Cao Yun could easily separate those strands to turn Evil Qi into Qi, but he could also easily control Evil Qi as though it was any kind of Qi. Death Energy was the corrupted version of the Po. Although the Po had to naturally turn into Death Energy to help the body break down and rot while severing its connection on the Hun so it could leave the body, Death Energy was also supposed to quickly dissipate. If it lingered for too long, it was a problem. Finally, Ghost Energy was the corrupted version of the Hun. Most of the tis, it was created when the Hun was damaged while leaving the body, or even corrupted by the Death Energy itself. With ti, this Ghost Energy could give rise to a ghost who would retain so core mories of the deceased but would just be an echo of him.
When it ca to Evil Qi and Death Energy, Cao Yun was pretty confident, but he wasn't a great expert of Ghost Energy. Thankfully, whoever had set up those array formations was exactly in Cao Yun's position on that front. But he could also tell that this master wasn't as proficient as he was when it ca to Evil Qi. Unfortunately, Cao Yun could tell that this master was superior on several aspects surrounding Death Energy.
Even with 'Death Verses', Cao Yun realized that he wasn't equal to the array formation master who had protected the Temple of Grace and Submission. The difference was subtle, but it was clear to Cao Yun's eyes. Just by looking at that work, he could see where he was slightly inferior. Instead of deterring him, it made Cao Yun want to find this expert even more. Maybe he could progress his understanding of the Dao of Death. Even marginally improving his understanding of such an important Dao before becoming a Sage was a huge deal. Most cultivators couldn't understand any fraction of any Dao before becoming a Sage. Cao Yun was already studying the Dao of Death and the Dao of Space from his masters Cleansed Asura and Sect Leader Xuan.
Hopefully, with Dian Mo's help, Cao Yun would be able to get into the Temple of Grace and Submission without being found out.
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