Chapter 428: Spy or poison

The very day after the exhibition, almost everything that had happened in the courtyard of the Yun estate was known by all. What truly interested Cao Yun was that his gift had had a huge impact indeed. Although the pill he had refined wasn't extraordinary, the fact that he had achieved such a quality with a reformed refine was. As such, all the alchemists were talking about it.

In fact, the coming days, they would speak about it more and more as they were trying to replicate the pill using the same recipe. They kept on failing at first as they were learning the obscure technique of fire control used within it. Even when they finally succeeded, they couldn't reach such a quality of pill.

Among the alchemists interested in the pill was Gu Song. As a demonic cultivator the study of blood was of great interest to him. Right now, he was in his laboratory working on some pill. The old man was standing above a large metallic furnace. All over it were traces of dried blood as several parts from either beasts, humans or demons were placed on it. Besides those, there was a golden cauldron with thick scorched marks under it.

All the time he had been forced to stay cooped up inside this laboratory, Gu Song had always been working on new pills. But he was also interested in other matters. In fact, his most intense topic of research was the soul. However, it didn't mean that he wasn't passionate about blood. After all Mo Tian himself had been trying to fuse human and demon blood. Even though Gu Song thought that the best strategy was to work on the soul first, he wasn't oblivious to the positive points of Mo Tian's method. Unfortunately, each time he had tried to fuse demon blood within a human body, the subject had died in agony as all their meridians were dissolved within their flesh.

With Mo Tian, they had tried different methods on cultivators at various levels. Sadly, the result was always the same even if they attempted to strengthen the meridians beforehand. No human meridian or Dantian could survive the potency of demon blood. They had also tried with demonic beast blood as well. The success rate was higher but they couldn't replicate the strength of the demons. Thus, Gu Song began to research the soul instead. Maybe if they could emulate the soul cultivation of the demons, they could find something.

That was why he had started to work on the Heart Locking Fire Pact. Along the decades he had refined his technique. Even Xiao Xuefeng would have a hard time seeing through his seal now. He was convinced that this black flame he had created could evolve into something resembling a Demon Soul. In theory, a Demon Soul was a higher form of inner demon that demons could control after subduing it with chains of blood. To improve on his black flame, he had been forced to accumulate many souls. In fact, in his laboratory Ghost Energy and Death Energy were lingering around. Indeed, there were fragments of souls being used by his alchemy all the time.

When he heard about Guai Mo's new recipe, he was intrigued. But after seeing it, he was hooked. This wasn't just the recipe, but the quality of the pill refined by Guai Mo. There was no doubt in Gu Song's mind that Guai Mo's flame control had reached a new height. Clearly he was way more talented than his current disciple Xue Rui.

Speaking of Xue Rui, he was currently with his master.

"Master, your dual cultivation is very efficient. I have put the black flame under control. But I'm not sure how long Zhong Ling's soul will endure. Each time, I can feel her life being burned away. If only she could last longer, I might be able to help you improve the black flame."

"No need to try and convince me. I won't forsake you, for now. As long as you're useful, I will keep supporting you. But this Guai Mo really intrigues me I have to admit. I need to know whether I can have him as a disciple too."

"Master, this Guai Mo only cares about his fame. Unless he can compete in the Alchemy Conference, he won't accept!"

When he spoke those words, Xue Rui was suddenly scared. Could his master decide to replace him? If Guai Mo would only follow him if he could participate in the Alchemy Conference, the easiest way to convince him was to get rid of Xue Rui...

"Do not worry too much. I have other ways to convince people. But I need to be sure of this boy. Maybe it would be easier to just kill him and sift through his soul myself. We'll see about that... However, for your problem, there are several solutions. If you leave enough time to your pet to recover, you'll be able to use her a bit more before her soul completely burns away. But you won't do that because the black flame is devouring you even faster than you're consuming her soul. Then, you could try and help her recover with some pills. Unfortunately, pills working on the soul are just too advanced for you to refine them. A True Essence 5-star Human pill might do the trick but it won't last long either. Then, you have the last solution. Find another human crucible."

"Another one?"

"Yes, find yourself another girl to dual cultivate. After all this Long Yin..."

"Zhong Ling."

"Whatever! That girl wasn't the best choice for this dual cultivation."

"Then, how should I choose another one?"

"Well, there is a perfect candidate. I've even been feeding her some pills to make her that much more useful to you."

Before his master could finish his thought, Xue Rui had understood his meaning. He was asking him to consume Qiang Zilan's soul instead of Xue Rui's.

"Come on. Don't tell me that you've grown to care for her. I told you to take her as a concubine for a reason. She's not even your official wife, you can have other concubines in the future. That girl was desperate to save her family's finances. And she was perfect for you to dual cultivate. With a tiny help from my pills, I do believe that she is ripe for the taking. Besides, she's not too stupid, I'm sure she's figured out that there's something wrong with you and what's her face."

"I..."

"What? You do realize that if you keep switching between the two of them, you could make them last longer. Your servant's soul should be completely destroyed by the end of the month at this rate. But if you throw in your little concubine, you might be able to make them last for four or even five months. I mean, you could try to find another candidate, but you don't have much time and the conditions are rather strict. You don't want to end up like my previous disciple, do you?"

Although Xue Rui had never met Luo Jiang, he knew what had ultimately happened to him. And yes, he didn't want to be next. However, he couldn't imagine inflicting the torment he was putting Zhong Ling through to his concubine. She had been very supportive and recently, he had even thought about officially making her his true wife. But then, if he didn't do as his master instructed, his black flame would start to consume him again.

Immediately after dual cultivating with Zhong Ling, Xue Rui had recovered most of his mind. He wasn't as enraged as before and his alchemy was progressing faster and faster. During the sessions, he was quite literally ripping off parts of Zhong Ling's soul to fuel his Heart Locking Fire Pact. By sending a small piece of the black flame within his partner, he could devour her soul as fuel. At the same time, it was also soothing the black flame and protecting Xue Rui's state of mind.

Could he really do such a thing to Qiang Zilan? But if he didn't...

"I know you'll make the right choice. For now leave, I have someone else to talk to."

Still confused, Xue Rui left the laboratory of his master just as a small servant entered it. He didn't remember the face of the boy he saw. In fact, he was certain that this wasn't a servant of his family. But Xue Rui knew better than to ask any question. Instead, he walked back to his own chambers.

There, he saw Qiang Zilan who was working on some painting. Without disturbing her, he looked at her craft. In his mind, everything was blank just like the canvas she was painting on. And as she was filling the canvas with paint, Xue Rui was calm. For the time being, he put all those thoughts to the back of his mind. But it didn't take long for a small voice coming from his heart to whisper in his ear. He wanted to take Zhong Ling again. The more he was practicing the demonic arts, the more he wanted to. Although his rage was under control, his appetite had grown out of control in its stead.

At first, he had wanted to become a better alchemist to surpass his older brother. Now he truly wanted to progress in order to make Qiang Zilan happy. She had tied her life to his fate and he didn't want to let her go. But to progress, he might have to destroy her very soul. Then, what would be the point?

But the mere fact that he was sincerely thinking about it told him something. Hadn't he been deceiving himself about caring or even loving Qiang Zilan? Had she just been a good excuse to fall into depravity? By consuming her, he would be forced to admit that he simply cared about power and fame more than he cared about anything or anyone else. And the worst part was that he was slowly beginning to realize that this was the case...

-

After giving Dian Mo a few poem anthologies among his favorite ones, poems written by Saint Dashan in particular, Cao Yun headed toward Red Realm's Banquet Hall. During his stay in Qingyun City, Cao Yun had visited this great restaurant several times. In fact, a lot of his money had been wasted there. Even for prodigal cultivators, this was a bit too much. Each time, he was ordering very expensive and rare dishes. Some were starting to think that he might be some kind of gourmet. Being an alchemist he had of course a palate much more sensitive than others.

The reason why he was going to that restaurant wasn't to have a great meal though. Of course, he would still take advantage of the situation to order a great meal anyway. But he had come in order to meet someone he had already met there. Like the previous time, he asked the head waiter for an isolated room. And it didn't take long for Di Xihe to join him. She had yet another appearance today. As she was hiding in the room, she heard Cao Yun's voice in her ear.

No matter how she was trying to hide herself, it was impossible. Since the first time he had been duped by her, Cao Yun had never been deceived by her art ever again. That was both intriguing and frustrating her at the same time.

"So, have you discovered where the alchemist I'm looking for is?"

"I know in which building he lives, but getting to him directly will take a bit more time. Recently, Xue Rui comes and goes from that place more often. I feel like he's worried about you."

"Of course he is, I'm way better than he is and I will take his spot to the Alchemy Conference. This isn't good enough though. I need to know exactly where his master resides."

"Well, I won't risk my life. I have an ominous feeling about that place. Even though I believe in my skills, I have the sensation I would die without even understanding how. Besides, there are powerful array formations. Let's say that I was ready to risk my life there, even following Xue Rui inside to see where he goes would be highly difficult. If I'm discovered by the Xue family, my fate won't be much better."

Cao Yun could tell that Di Xihe was just trying to extort him by saying how difficult it would be. However, she had learned. She didn't try to seduce him this time as she had seen how inefficient it had been twice already.

"Come on, what do you want? I don't have much patience for your shenanigans."

"You promised that you could find what I'm looking for. Prove me that you can deliver and I will risk my skin for your precious information."

"Fair enough. I know that you're looking for your father here in Qingyun City. I've been able to track down the location of almost every man in the city during the time of your conception. It will take a bit more time to know for sure who was your father, but it should drastically reduce the scope."

"Good, good. Give me the files."

From Cao Yun's spatial ring, several documents appeared and flew into Di Xihe's hands. She was visibly excited and began to read them straight away. It didn't take her too long to remember all the names and locations at the time. Some of the men had died since then, but she was certain that her father was in the list. Like Cao Yun and Dian Mo had surmised, she had been born from a demon mother, but her father had been human.

"Those are accurate?"

"Absolutely! Then...?"

"I'll do it. In two weeks, I'll tell you precisely where Gu Song is."

"Thank you. We'll meet back here in two weeks' time then.You may leave for now."

When Di Xihe left the room, another voice resounded in Cao Yun's ear.

"Then we have our answer, don't we?"

"Yes, we do. Everything will happen in a week."

"Don't you want to wait for Yong Ke's return?"

"It won't be necessary. I already confirmed that she did everything I asked of her. Almost all my preparations are done. I'll just have to adjust my array formations accordingly and everything will be set to go. Now I'm confident that Gu Song will try to make me his disciple. This will be the time we strike. We'll only have one shot, but he won't ever stand up from it."