Revolt against the Heavens

What really struck Cao Yun was that there was no child in the settlement. There were a few Blood Children but they were all above twenty at least. In fact, the settlement itself seemed truly desolate and the people a bit depressed. With Cao Yun's arrival, this caused some activity as many tribesmen went to look at the two outsiders. Xixue wasn't particularly interesting as they had already welcomed her cousin in their midst.

On the other hand, Cao Yun was a true sensation. With his acute senses, he could easily make out all the conversations about him. Everyone was wondering whether he was truly Tie Po. Cao Yun had not crafted this name. Strangely enough, it had been given to him by those he had freed in the Desolate Dune Desert, along with Xixue. There was probably some history behind the name but he didn't know about it.

Anyway, talks about him were mostly to confirm whether the rumors were true or not. In fact, some even invented entire facts that surprised Cao Yun himself. But the gist of it was that he was able to break the Curse of Blood and Sorrow. Clearly, this was the Slavery Brand manufactured by City Lord Sihe.

While he was walking through the settlement, Cao Yun kept on working on his spiritual senses. All the way, he was spreading part of his Flying Poison in the sand. As he was doing so, he realized that this was a good exercise. Not only was it strengthening his Flying Poison, it was also forcing him to balance out the other Turbid Demons in his sea of consciousness. From time to time, he could feel some unbalance and he had to rectify it. He was walking a thin line, but unfortunately, there wasn't a perfectly safe way to do so. However, he was extremely careful indeed.

The settlement was mostly made of tents with few permanent structures. As the Sand Wolves Tribe was semi-nomadic, they had a few settlements they migrated to and from depending on the period of the year and the desert itself. Thus, they could leave this settlement very quickly if need be. In fact, the permanent structures were either some sturdy buildings which seemed to have a symbolic importance, maybe a religious one, and defenses. Indeed, there were many defenses all over the place. Cao Yun could tell that some of them were fairly recent. They had been forced to change their ways when the Nalupu Kingdom became more offensive. In a way, Boss Gui and City Lord Sihe were responsible for this.

As much as Boss Gui was relying on quality of slave warriors, other city lords were only betting on quantity. As such, many tribesmen had been enslaved by various city lords to be sold to the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. While it made them wealthier and wealthier, it was also helping the Nalupu Kingdom slowly getting rid of the nomad tribes they didn't completely control. Apart from the tribes themselves of course, everyone was very happy with this development.

Finally they reached the tent of the chieftain. It wasn't too different from the other tents. In fact, it was even smaller as it didn't need to contain a lot of people. However, it was obvious that the leaders were there because of the colors and emblems on it. There was a wolf entirely composed of sand and whose eyes were literally made out of fresh blood. Its body seemed to be a sandstorm in the form of its fur. Besides, Cao Yun could feel a few powerful auras in the tent. There were around ten people in there. Despite their power, only one had really reached the Accomplished Demon realm. And that person was relatively weak for an Accomplished Demon. Cao Yun could sense that their vitality was rather meek. Most likely, that person was either very old or had reached this realm by some means leaving them weakened.

Before they entered the tent, Cao Yun and Xixue were stopped by two guards. Like everyone else in the settlement, their skin was leathery. This made them look older. Although this would have been a sign of weakness in the cities, nomads saw it as a sign of strength. Indeed, this proved how long they had stayed in the harsh desert and had survived. Given their strength, they should have been able to reduce the effect of the Fire Qi within the sand to their skin, but this would never occur to them to do so. Besides, it probably helped them cultivate a little bit.

Sha Lang Hu walked forward and entered the tent first. As soon as he did enter, his presence almost disappeared. Without his spiritual senses, Cao Yun would have been unable to perceive him at all. Even his physical senses were useless as he could not hear anything within.

For the time of a cup of team, Cao Yun and Xixue waited at the doorstep. At last, the tent opened again. Sha Lang Hu told them to come in.

As soon as they entered, they saw eight people with identical robes. Those were very similar to the other tribesmen's clothes but with a few emblems on them to show their status. Most were men but there were a couple women. Just like Sha Lang Hu, their skin was very dry and leathery, even the women. In fact, there was a single man with healthier skin and he clearly seemed out of place, just like Cao Yun. However, he was wearing the same emblems as the tribe.

Cao Yun guessed that he had to visit the cities often. After all, the tribes relied on their commerce with the cities on top of their hunt. Even though they had a complicated relationship with the Nalupu Kingdom, they still had to work together in some way.

On some small platform, there were two heavy chairs with a couple sitting in them. The man had a very severe face with a few scars and a missing eye. His skin barely seemed human. Strangely, it looked like leather and bronze at the same time with tinges of dark blood. The scars themselves were deeply dark and reddish. And his remaining eye was completely white. Looking more closely, it had streaks of gray in it. However, his gaze was intense beyond belief. This man had certainly lived through many life-and-death situations.

His hair was also gray and white cascading on his chest and upper back. They were so long they reached his waist. Moreover, they were completely disheveled, so much so that he almost looked like a beggar. Although he looked extremely old, he was still exuding a powerful aura. Considering his looks, it was hard to tell but he had to be around a thousand year old and some more. There was no doubt that he was reaching the end of his natural lifespan.

By his side was a woman delicately grabbing his arm. She seemed a younger by a margin. Once again, it was hard to tell but she was probably around five to six hundred years old.

Just like the old man, she exuding a strong aura, but unlike him she was not an Accomplished Demon yet. Given her age, this was a proof that their cultivation wasn't too developed in the Sand Wolves Tribe. In fact, this was the case for most nomad tribes. Even in the cities, cultivation wasn't flourishing. Early Accomplished Demon seemed to be the pinnacle for many demons, while only a handful could reach the late Accomplished Demon stage.

Indeed, they had stayed isolated a bit too much and their methods were clearly lacking. Even Cao Yun's basic knowledge was superior to theirs. Moreover, he had to admit that cultivation one's Turbid Demons was indeed complicated and dangerous. Maybe they had faced many problems and were now afraid of crossing this boundary. Even though his 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' was relatively safe, it was still fraught with danger.

When the old man spoke, his voice was thundering. It completely filled the tent and resounded everywhere. Cao Yun could literally feel it in his bones and throughout his flesh. The old man had poured his spiritual senses in his voice. But it wasn't that much more powerful than Cao Yun's Flying Poison. Without seeming aggressive, the young human surrounded himself with his spiritual senses.

"This old man heard of Tie Po's tales. Tie Po is supposed to have vanquished the Curse of Blood and Sorrow. If that man is Tie Po, that an is welcome among my cubs."

"Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, this man is known to the nomad tribes as Tie with the given name Po. Among the city dwellers, this humble servant is also known as Mo, given name Yun."

"Oh?! That man speaks the tongue of the Wolves?! And the Demons are indeed strong in that man."

"Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, this man is ashamed to show such meager talent before that chieftain's majesty. This humble one has dire news for the Wolves."

"My father had heard this from valiant Sha Lang Hu. Bringing calamity to our Wolves is a severe crime. If Tie Po is indeed that man's name, this humble girl hopes that man has answers to the Council."

The woman by Chieftain Sha Chai Ren spoke with such grudge in her voice. Although it was bitter, Cao Yun immediately knew that this wasn't directed at him per se. Something had happened recently and everyone was upset or depressed. The gloomy looks he had seen outside were proof enough.

Forcing himself to speak in their local dialects, Cao Yun was very direct. Although their language was a bit convoluted at times, with double or even triple negations, they were ironically very direct in their meaning. It seemed as though their language wasn't optimal for their culture in some sense. Or maybe this very convoluted language was a way to compensate with their direct words and tones.

"This humble one is sad to bring ominous news as the Wolves already seem to lick their wounds. However, a messenger cannot be guilty of the message he brings."

"But a messenger should be careful with their words, lest their lose their heads."

"Old woman, I will be careful with my words, but so should you. Let me speak my piece before you throw shades on my person."

"Gan'er, let the man who claims the name Tie Po speak."

"Yes, father."

"From your enemy City Lord Gui, I have on good authority that your enemy City Lord Sihe intends to strike at your heart. A battalion of trained Golden Blood Children is coming to strike at your heart and enslave your cubs and kill the others."

"Humph! Old news that is! The Falcon Peak's settlement was razed when the moon hid her face."

Although Cao Yun wasn't too familiar with the names given to locations in the Desolate Dune Desert, he could figure out where this Falcon Peak was thanks to what Xixue had already told him. Besides, by thinking about the cycle of the moon, this had happened four days ago. With that in mind, City Lord Sihe's men should be a week from this settlement. Besides, if they had already captured slaves there, it wouldn't be too difficult for them to find all the other settlements before they could escape.

"I am sincerely sorry for your loss. However, the danger is not over. City Lord Sihe does not intend to launch a simple raid on your tribe, he will eradicate you all if you let him. This is why I came. Although me strength is meager, I do intend to help you deal with the current crisis."

"Humph! And that arrogant man thinks we weak cubs need his assistance?!"

The Chieftain's daughter had extremely harsh words spoken in an insulting tone. Thus, Cao Yun decided to make things clear.

"Silence!"

Using his spiritual senses and his 'Weeping Demon', he sent a powerful mental attack in her direction. For a moment, she had a monster covered in blood and standing on a mountain of crushed heads and whitened skulls. Behind him was fire and broken spears.

All the Council was immediately ready to strike down the outsider, but Chieftain Sha Chai Ren stopped them with a single gesture.

"My daughter did let her pain poison her words. If Tie Po is willing to risk his Blood for ours, we will be glad to accept such assistance. However, I wonder what Tie Po would like in return..."

"Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, this humble one won't ask for much. I will help your tribe survive this crisis because our enemies are aligned in this situation. The accursed City Lord Sihe is also a threat to my humble person. However, I do expect to be received with more respect."

"This old man will believe in your sincerity and in your strength. Unfortunately, my Blood is almost dust in my veins. This old man won't be of much help to you."

"I understand, Chieftain. Please, listen to my strategies. My strength is alchemy not war, thus my means are limited in a fight. However, I learned how to use others' strength in order to win ten thousands wars."

In the Chieftain's eyes, ridicule could be seen as she was still upset. But there was also something else. Despite her pain and anger, she was happy to have someone else help their tribe. Everyone could tell that she had no problem with Cao Yun. She was simply torn apart by her sadness and mourning. Although Cao Yun didn't know it, she had lost a child and several grandchildren recently. That was also why the other members of the Council were so defensive when it came to her. She had suffered enough!

"If your strategies are sound, we will listen to them, Tie Po."

Sha Lang Hu was the one who spoke first. He was standing besides Chieftain Sha Chai Ren, indicating his status. Although he was the youngest one in the tent, he was also the one with the strongest cultivation apart from Chieftain Sha Chai Ren. In fact, unbeknownst to the Council, his cultivation was higher than Cao Yun's.

For a few hours, they discussed about Cao Yun's plans. He used his knowledge of array formations and martial arts to propose a sound plan. Moreover, he could refine some pills to both strengthen the tribesmen and heal them during the battle. Of course, there side effects, but they were preferable to slavery or death.

By putting forward his status as an alchemist, he could probably avoid most of the fights. Indeed, he didn't want to reveal his real strength to all.