Chapter 493: Planning a revolt

Cao Yun waited for a moment when the slavers were not paying too much attention. To be fair, it wasn't that difficult. In their minds, the slaves were rather weak as not a single one of them had reached the Golden Blood Child realm. Thus, they were not worried about any of them escaping any time soon. Besides, they were more worried about crossing this desert alive. Although they had Cao Yun with them, whom they believed to be an Accomplished Demon, he didn't seem to care about helping them out. In itself, it both made him suspicious because he never left his caravan and yet helped his story at the same time. For the slavers, he was just too powerful to lower himself to their level. Most Accomplished Demons were indeed that arrogant.

For the time being, they had no choice but to let him ride their caravan until Yixin City. Once there, they would regroup with their own company. Of course, there were a few Accomplished Demons working for that company. Thus, they would be able to deal with Cao Yun. Maybe they could recruit him. Or maybe they could sell him too...

Since they believed him to be a real Accomplished Demon, they were afraid he might overhear them. As a consequence, they didn't speak. But they were able to get each other's meaning quite well without talking. Those slavers seemed to use some kind of hand signals to talk with each other. Since they had no spiritual senses, it was their only way of talking without making any sound. Even with his perception, Cao Yun could not understand those signals. Most likely, no outsider could do so, which was why they were using them.

That being said, Cao Yun was not stupid. He had seen the cruelty of his traveling companions during several months. Because they wanted to sell the slaves, they were never going too overboard. But tormenting and humiliating the slaves seemed to be their only entertainment. Thankfully, even though they had proposed Cao Yun to abuse the women slaves, they never did so themselves. Once again, they wanted to sell them. But they still toyed with them as though they were mere pets. Apparently, the women slavers were even more cruel and imaginative than their men counterparts. Several times Cao Yun wanted to slaughter them all. Unfortunately, he wasn't ready for it.

If he were to kill them in this desert with no direction toward Yixin City, it would be a huge problem. That being said, he was certain that if he kept them alive, he could get some information out of their mouths. Without Dian Mo's Soul Memory Search, this was the only way. But that meant that he had to make sure that at least their leader Yaxue survived. Then, he would have to keep him alive long enough to get all the information he needed. As they were getting closer and closer to Yixin City, Cao Yun was truly musing about this plan. He still needed to iron out some details. Among those details were the fact that he needed more information. In fact, he wanted to know what the slaves could tell him.

Once the slavers were busy with something else, Cao Yun finally sent his thoughts toward Xixue, the woman slave he had chosen.

"Don't be alarmed. Don't make a sound. I'm a friend. If you can hear me, simply whisper and I shall hear you."

"Who are you?"

There was no fear or confusion in her voice. Despite everything that had happened, Xixue was still strong of will. All the other slaves seemed to look up to her for support. But they were always very discreet about that so as to not expose how important she was to them. Since the other slavers looked down on those slaves, they had failed to realize this, but Cao Yun had.

"My name is Mo Yun. I am the senior residing in the caravan in front of yours."

"And what do you want?"

Although she was whispering so low that not even her fellow slaves could hear her, Cao Yun was able to hear her voice very distinctly. And in her voice, there was absolutely no respect even though she thought she was talking to an Accomplished Demon.

"I need information on this region and those people. You see, I come from another region far from here but got lost in this Desolate Dune Desert. Thus I was forced to travel with those slavers in order to reach the closest city. However, I do not condone their behavior and I do fear that they intend to visit upon me what they did to you."

Of course, Cao Yun could not outright claim that he cared about the fate of the slaves. Thus, he made it about himself. Like that, the woman would be more keen to believe his story. After all, an Accomplished Demon had no reason to care for lowly slaves. Besides, Cao Yun didn't know whether slavery was legal in all of the continent. If he claimed to come from a place where slavery was considered as the evil it was, he may lose her trust even before gaining it.

"And you want me to tell you enough so you can survive even after killing those brutes?"

"That is my intention."

"Humph! If I help you, we will all die."

"I do not intend for any of you to die. I can even swear to you that I will help you cross the desert as best as I can."

"That isn't the point. They used the Slavery Brand on us."

Obviously, Cao Yun had no idea what this 'Slavery Brand' was. However, he had looked through the slaves' bodies using his Flying Poison. Thanks to the training he had received from Dian Mo, he had been able to find an intricate seal in their blood. Finding out its function was a bit more complicated. The good news though was that he didn't need to know what it was for in order to get rid of it.

"I can get rid of any seal in you without any problem. Do you want me to prove it to you right now?"

"What?! You can get rid of a Slavery Brand?!"

For the first time in their conversation, Xixue's tone changed. She finally became interested in the conversation.

"If you're not from around here, where are you from?"

"Far away as I said. I was sent to this continent because of some terrible storm and I intend to leave it as fast as I can. No matter what happens, I do intend to kill those slavers. But if you help me, I can ensure that you and your companions all survive."

"Where would you take us? If we go to Yixin City, we'll be trapped once again. They'll immediately see from which tribe we hail."

"I don't know the geography of this continent. Is there another city close by where you could go?"

Xixue thought for some time.

"There is one. It's very small, but we should be able to organize our return to our tribe from there."

"You would cross the Desolate Dune Desert once more?"

"Unlike those fools, we know this desert well enough to cross it without any problem. We would have never brought the fury of a Tyrant Sun Scarab upon us. Although they can orientate themselves in the desert, they're still too ignorant of its ways. But I fear that if you free us, you might not have any use for us. Besides, we will be witnesses to the murder of those brutes. From what I hear, they work for Boss Gui. That woman is absolutely monstrous. If you cross her, death would be a very nice end."

"The only reason why I haven't killed those men already was because I needed them to cross that desert. If you can assure me you're able to help me with that, I will have no qualm about letting you all live."

To be honest, Cao Yun had also waited because he was maybe a bit too weak to take them all on. But now that he was very familiar with them and that he was ready to form his Golden Blood, things had changed. He had absolutely no intention of attacking them straight on though. Instead, he had already prepared a plan to take them all out in a matter of seconds. Of course, he couldn't be sure whether this plan would be easy to put into action. But he was confident enough.

Before acting though, he would have to look careful for any kind of seal or blood runes in their blood and flesh. With his current understanding of the soul and his Flying Poison, he could even get rid of seals within someone's soul. As such, there was absolutely no seal that could resist him. At least, no Spirit Warrior or Accomplished Demon could craft a seal he couldn't unravel. Of course, stronger cultivators could probably do so, but no one on the Piaolu planet had exceeded those realms since the Forsaken Dao Era.

"Do you have any information I would need to know before I strike?"

"No."

For the first time in their conversation, Cao Yun detected a lie. There was something Xixue wasn't telling him. But behind that lie, he also detected hope and fear about that hope. Indeed, Xixue was afraid that what she knew would deter Cao Yun from doing what he had in mind. After all, instead of killing the group, he might as well run away alone just before reaching Yixin City.

"Hiding anything from me is not the right move, young lady. As I said, I do intend to kill them all no matter what. I swear that I won't abandon you. To tell you the truth, I cannot stand demons enslaving other demons. In my home, such a crime is punishable by death and worse. So do not worry. Those slavers' lives are forfeit. They threw them away the moment they decided to enslave another fellow demon."

"Fine... I heard that Boss Gui has connections with the Sisters of the Abyss. From the rumors, they're able to track anyone. If you kill her men, Boss Gui might be able to find you out. Although I don't for sure, the Sisters probably use blood seals. If you kill those slavers, you will be marked and easy to follow."

Cao Yun had already heard the name of those Sisters of the Abyss. They seemed to be a powerful religious order. Even Lord Wanghuo, the King of the Nalupu Kingdom, was respecting them. All of the city-states were considering them as a great pillar of their culture. As such, not even a king could afford to disrespect them.

No matter how powerful they were, Cao Yun wasn't afraid at all. Even if they could somehow track him, he was confident in his stealth technique to thoroughly conceal himself. Maybe Dian Mo would have been able to tell him more. There was a possibility that he knew something important about those Sisters. But if the Sisters used seals, Cao Yun was not afraid of this. Not only could he get rid of the seals within Yaxue and the others, he could get rid of any seal in himself. Besides, he simply had to make it look like a demonic beast had killed them. This wasn't unusual.

Thankfully, the fact that Xixue had accepted to tell him about this so easily showed that there was some level of trust. At the very least, she believed he was telling the truth. And on his end, he knew that she was telling the truth. The slaves could help him cross the desert just as fine as the slavers. In the worst case scenario, Cao Yun could even put seals on them so that they could never reveal what had happened. If his plan worked out, apart from Xixue, no one would ever see his face or hear his name. However, he would err on the side of caution in a land he knew nothing about.

"Tonight, I will slaughter Yaxue's companions. And I will take care of him myself afterwards. Your job will be to free all your companions. After that, you will help the caravan reach the city you've talked about. Once we're there, you and your friends will be free to go anywhere you want. I ask for nothing more. Since the others seem to trust you, I count on you to convince them to help me. What say you?"

"I have no reason to refuse. If you free us, we will bring you to the closest city."

There was now eagerness, and maybe even ambition, in Xixue's voice. And there was no trace of falsehood. The more he thought about the last few months, the more guilty and ashamed Cao Yun felt. He might have been able to free the slaves earlier. But that girl might have also tried to sell him out to save herself. Unfortunately, Cao Yun had no way of knowing it for sure before trying. There was too much risk for himself. As much as he was telling himself it was for his sister, he knew that this was also for his own sake.

"Xixue, I am sorry about what happened to you all. If I had acted earlier, I could have spared you a lot of humiliation and suffering..."

This time, Cao Yun felt a true surprise in Xixue's demeanor. Although what he had already told her had been unexpected, his last words were truly amazing. Since Xixue had never met any Accomplished Demon before, she had a certain vision of who they were in mind. For her, no Accomplished Demon would ever be so compassionate. They were seeing others, even other demons, as insects, especially if they came from another tribe. Xixue didn't know where Cao Yun had come from, but it was probably a far better place than this blazing hell.

"Senior, my people has known pain and humiliation for millenniums now. You are not responsible for any of that. Without your help, we would be sold as servants, whores, playthings or even sacrifices. Free us from that terrible fate and we will forgive anything you want."

There was a bit more respect in Xixue's words, but none in her tone.

Now that Cao Yun had made up his mind, there was no going back. His plan was simple. He intended to take down all of Yaxue's companions as quickly as possible using any means at his disposal. Then he would keep at least Yaxue alive in order to squeeze all the information he needed out of him.

Before doing all of that though, Cao Yun used his Flying Poison to thoroughly investigate everyone's bodies, both slaves and slavers. Getting inside their sea of consciousness on the other hand would reveal his actions. Thus, he would wait until later to do that. But already, he had detected a few seals he knew with certainty he could unravel. Everything seemed to be in order for him to attack.