Revolt against the Heavens

Realizing this short-coming, Cao Yun decided to use his spiritual senses specifically toward the sand. Very soon, he discovered that this sand was completely saturated with Fire Qi. Besides, there was also a form of intent within that sand that immediately assaulted his very soul. While his Flying Poison was related to Earth, the Unclean Evil was linked to Wood and Stinking Lungs to Metal. In other words, those last two Turbid Demons were ill-equipped to deal with some aggressive Fire Qi. Thankfully, his Flying Poison, with the support of the intent from the Drop of Wrath could sink pretty deep into the sand.

Although it wasn't too clear, Cao Yun could feel a form of familiarity with this sand. At some point, he even realized that the faint intent within the Fire Qi seemed to warm up to him. As he was trying to go deeper and deeper, the resistance should have increased. However, it didn't. Just as the pressure was increasing on his soul, the dim intent within the sand was getting less and less aggressive thus the overall strain on his soul didn't change much.

While he was doing all that, Xixue was speaking with the tribesmen all around them. They were all Golden Blood Children. Not a single one exceeded the 3rd-grade stage. In other words, Cao Yun would be able to incapacitate or kill anyone of them very easily. On the other hand, he could tell that they perfectly knew how to fight as one. Even though he wasn't an expert when it came to battle formations, he knew about the Six Stratagems. They are clearly mastered 'Breathing as One' as their breath was perfectly harmonious. It wasn't as easy as breathing according to the same rhythm. Instead, their overall breath had a very specific rhythm. Their group seemed to have a life of its own. A better way to put it would be an orchestra. Not all the instruments were playing at the same time or with the same melody, but they were producing something coherent and beautiful.

If he were to fight such a force, Cao Yun was confident he would triumph, but it would be harder and he would need to be smart about it. Sheer brute force wouldn't work too well against trained fighters like those. In fact, such a training might be useful to Boss Gui's slaves. By combining their training with hers, they could create a powerful army indeed.

Just as he was thinking about it, Cao Yun saw images of conquest. Maybe he could simply take over Boss Gui's business. If he could force those tribes to follow him, or even enslave them, he would obtain an army powerful enough to take over most of the Desolate Sepulcher. With time, he could even develop a force that could contend with the weakened Hongchen Kingdom. In his mind, he was seeing himself ruling over the entire Piaolu planet. Then, he saw images of his enemies enslaved, tortured or killed at his feet, begging for a mercy that would never come. After them, it was his own friends who were submitted to him completely. There were entire harems bent to his every whim.

As he was lost in this vision, Cao Yun sensed a powerful sensation throughout his chest. His Flying Poison was still probing the sand down below. Thus his Unclean Evil and Stinking Lungs were powerful within his sea of consciousness. The two characters representing them were floating both around his Po the Metal Corporeal Soul and within his Drop of Wrath where he was trying to duplicate them. Around those characters, there was some turbid air. Suddenly, Shen the Fire Spirit emitted a fierce light just as flames surrounded it. The flames descended toward Po the Metal Corporeal Soul. Under the lead of the Rune of Fire, those flames tamed the two Turbid Demons.

At this point, Cao Yun had not completely mastered them. The Stinking Lungs was the Po of Spirit and its Turbid Demon version related to corruption of one's values and ideals. The vision Cao Yun had just had was obviously a corruption of his ambition. And Dian Mo was seeing all of that.

"Boy, you may have bitten more than you could chew with those two Turbid Demons at the same time..."

"I know. But I still have them under control. I was just carefree with my Flying Poison. But if those had been real Turbid Demons, I could have literally just lost my mind right now. It's no wonder there isn't a lot of Accomplished Demons. Just like demonic cultivators, they can go insane pretty easily. If demons didn't have such a strong will, they could never cultivate beyond their second realm."

"Indeed... But didn't those visions make you reflect on your plans? They're not too different, aren't they? As much as you claim to be opposed to slavery, you allied yourself with a greedy woman like Boss Gui whose entire fortune depends upon enslaving others to sell them."

"This is a means to an end. The reason why I allied with her is because she's absolutely pragmatic. I know precisely where she stands and thus I won't have any surprise with her. As long as helping me is in her best interest, she'll keep doing so. Besides, she's not enslaving others for any other reason than for money. Thus, if I can show her a better way to gain power and wealth, I could rally her to my cause. Others might be more difficult to convince. I'm not too sure what's the stance of the Sisters of the Abyss on the matter. However, the Nalupu Kingdom needs slaves to maintain its authority so it will be harder with Lord Wanghuo."

"So you really intend to try and free all slaves?! Do you think you're some kind of savior?!"

"Once again, I don't plan to be a saint. But I've seen a way to at the very least diminish slavery. I don't think I can alter those demons' culture enough to get rid of the concept. And I have no time to lead an extensive social reform. Furthermore, I'm no more a politician than I am a saint. However, what I can do for those peoples, I will do."

"But in the end, it's just so you can diminish the Empyrean Asura Theocracy's strength and find a way back to your own continent. Boy, if you could find a way back home right now, wouldn't you just abandon all those people, even that girl Xixue, and go back to your sister? Even if you lack the strength to oppose Emperor Weide yourself, Sect Leader Xuan and Spirit Master Xiao would be behind you. Hell, you might even get the support of Matriarch Huang. With those Spirit Warriors as your backers, you could save your sister after all. Don't you think so?"

"... And how could I get a boat back to the main continent and then cross it completely to get back to the Hongchen Kingdom? First of all, Lord Wanghuo controls the navy outside of this Desolate Sepulcher, not a single boat can leave without his say-so. With my current status, I couldn't get a boat and I'm not even sure I could sneak onboard. But then, I would reach the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Without enough strength, I wouldn't make it back home. I do think my current plan is my best option."

"... Really...? Fine, let's say you're right. Why are you helping this Xixue? You could have simply sent a message to warn this tribe. Do you think you can take down an entire battalion sent to attack them?"

"I could have sent a message. But I also want to earn the respect of the nomad tribes as they could make my life easier."

"And it has nothing to do with the sob story this Xixue told you?! Don't you think of your own sister when you hear about Yinlü?"

"Maybe I do. I won't deny it, actually. But I still think my actions are rational and reasonable."

"But if they weren't, would you still go through with them or would you abandon this girl? Are you sure you're not driven by your Turbid Demons? As much as you think you've got them under control, can you really claim it to be absolutely true?"

"I... Thinking too much about all the possibilities leads to stagnation. I've already be passive enough. Maybe my actions are not perfect, but they are better than sitting around doing nothing!"

"Humph! You're still too young..."

Suddenly, Cao Yun paused. Until now, his conversation with Dian Mo was a bit frustrating, but this word had just caused him to have a strange thought. He was 'too young'. In front of a spirit as old as Dian Mo, everyone on the Piaolu planet was too young after all. But Cao Yun had hopes of getting this old at some point. He wouldn't just stop after becoming a Spirit Warrior. He would reach the pinnacle of cultivation. And on the way, he would save his sister and also his kind. Hell, he might even save the entire Piaolu planet from an all-consuming war.

-

Although Cao Yun was talking with Dian Mo within, he was still paying enough attention outside in case things went bad. He also was able to quickly identify the dialect used by the Sand Wolves Tribe. In the end, it was just a variation of the Moshenhua, it wasn't too hard to decipher it as many words were similar. Besides, Cao Yun was always trying to learn new languages in order to have better chances with the Antique Sixian of Cleansed Asura. It didn't take him more than one double hour to get the gist of this dialect. And the next day, he would speak it almost as well as a native. This would probably be seen positively by the tribe.

"I am Xixue from the Lotus Tribe. My cousin Meiyue joined your Sand Wolves Tribe recently. Our Bloods are not linked yet, but I would like to see your chieftain. We have dire news for your Sand Wolves Tribe."

The men and women surrounding Cao Yun and Xixue relaxed a bit. The young human could still feel their killing intent on him. If he showed any sign of hostility, they were ready to strike to kill. However, they were hearing Xixue's story. Thankfully, they did know of Meiyue. After all, the tribes often had several small settlements. Not only did they change settlements according to the period of the year, but they also divided their own tribe among them. This had always happened to a degree. But with the campaign to enslave more and more nomads, this had become a necessity. Sometimes even a small tribe would divide itself into ten different settlements. That way, their bloodline would always survive in the end. Most likely, they had learned this lesson with the annihilation of the Lotus Tribe.

After long discussions, the tribesmen called another man. He was a half-step Accomplished Demon without a doubt. His skin was dry and seemed almost as leather. For any other demon in the Nalupu Kingdom, this would have been a symbol of weakness. But among the desert dwellers, it was a symbol of strength and honor. It meant that he spent most of his life hunting in the desert. The Fire Qi within the sand had clearly affected his skin. But it had also helped his cultivation within. His blood was rich in fire. With his Rune of Fire, Cao Yun could feel it.

That man was probably the most powerful Golden Blood Child he had met until now. Besides, he had clearly a lot of experience. Thankfully, this tribe wasn't powerless at all. They could put up a good fight against the slavers sent by City Lord Sihe. But that didn't sit too well with Cao Yun either. There was no way City Lord Sihe wasn't aware of that. Maybe he was not targeting the main tribe. Maybe he would attack a smaller settlement. But he had no way of knowing the exact location of the Sand Wolves Tribe. At best, he had a rough guess. It was possible that Boss Gui's intel was poor.

Anyway, this was a great occasion for Cao Yun to form some relationship with the Sand Wolves Tribe and other tribes as well.

As he approached Xixue, the man was very pleasant. He smiled warmly and welcomed her in their midst. However, his attitude was different toward Cao Yun. There was no doubt in his mind that Cao Yun was an outsider, he wasn't part of any tribe. He wasn't from the desert, which meant that he was from the Nalupu Kingdom. Thus, he was a possible threat. Try as he might though, he couldn't decipher his cultivation. That meant that either he had a strange technique to hide it or he was an Accomplished Demon. In order to give that impression, Cao Yun mobilized his spiritual senses again. Most of his Flying Poison still remained in the sand, but he had taken a large part of it back in his sea of consciousness to balance out the other Turbid Demons.

Using the common Moshenhua, that man spoke to Cao Yun with disdain.

"This old man is Sha Lang Hu. Who might that man be?"

There was a thick accent in Sha Lang Hu's words. At first, Cao Yun wasn't even sure about his name. Thankfully, he had good ears and was able to piece things together in his mind. Using what he had gathered from their dialects, Cao Yun replied.

"This humble traveler comes from the West with the surname Tie and the given name Po. Accompanying that Lotus girl, I was hoping to deliver truth to the Wolves of the Sand."

Sha Lang Hu was surprised by Cao Yun's speech, even Xixue was. He had adapted very fast after hearing the young tribesmen. In fact, he almost sounded as though he had indeed grown up in the desert. Of course, his appearance was a testimony to the contrary though. There was another thing that surprised Sha Lang Hu.

"You claim the name Tie Po to yourself? Is that traveler the one who freed a caravan several moons ago."

"This is he, Uncle."

Before Cao Yun could answer, Hanqu Meiyue had come. She immediately went toward her cousin to enjoy their reunion. Sha Lang Hu and his soldiers' gaze on Cao Yun changed.

"The Wolves have heard of Tie Po's tale. It will be our honor to have that man for dinner. Chieftain Sha Chai Ren will want to meet that man. Dire news are not welcomed, but a messenger shouldn't be thrown out."