Chapter 97: End of the obsession

The more Cao Yun was using 'Dragon's Chest' in an actual fight, the faster he was understanding it. Within his now calm sea of consciousness, the Root Star was shining even brighter than the actual sun. The principle behind the technique could seem simple at a first glance. It consisted in sending Qi to enhance the part of the body one wanted to protect. However, in practice, the way of circulating said Qi was extremely complicated. Thankfully, Cao Yun had developed his Po character and his ability to circulate his Qi was way more refined compared with a standard Mortal cultivator.

The next step seemed pretty obvious. It consisted in enhancing all of the body at once. If one was able to reach this stage, his body would become as resilient as the body of a dragon who would have a similar strength. Dragon scales were usually considered like the most durable material any living thing could produce. Some metals or rocks were more resistant but they did not come from a living being.

Cao Yun had not yet reached this level. But right now he was using this 'Dragon's Chest' both in his back to prevent the bleeding and in his hands to tighten his grip on the spear. He did not need to protect anything else because he was focusing on dodging and attacking quickly, before retreating just after.

Finally, after several minutes, Luduo Bu's defense started to give way and Cao Yun's 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' penetrated his waist. The wound was not very deep. Yet the effect on Luduo Bu was tremendous. The inner demon realized he was losing and with this wound, he would have a harder time moving. Understanding that fighting Cao Yun head on was foolish, a ray of rationality pierced through his hatred.

The little servant had not been able to run away until now. She had been pinned down by the blood runes. Even though they had all disappeared, absorbed by the Drop of Wrath, Huang Cixi had no way of knowing that. In fact, she was still laying down in the Dark Veil array formation. The sounds of the fight were echoing relentlessly in the basin and she was utterly powerless.

Huang Cixi hated this feeling. Her own life was in the hands of the man she was supposed to hate but yet couldn't do wholeheartedly. The only thing she could do was stay out of his way. No matter how much she racked her brain, there was no other choice. And just like Cao Yun, she began to deeply understand the importance of strength. Even if she became the most important woman in her family, everything could be destroyed in an instant by a powerful assassin. As she was cursing her own weakness, she swore to become stronger. Then, she heard someone approaching.

Her heart stopped for an instant. The noise of the fight had not stopped. And Cao Yun would never come to her because she knew he was actively trying to protect her. The only person who could be coming down there was Luduo Bu. And the only reason why he would do so was obvious.

Huang Cixi was right.

Around the small basin, Cao Yun was trying to divert Luduo Bu by attacking him. Although his attacks were making some flesh wounds, they were not enough to deter the inner demon. By the time he went down toward the array formation, he was covered in fresh blood, as he wasn't fast enough to block every attack.

"Chen Guo, look what I do to your servant! Even if I can't kill you, someone else will! But first, your servant brat!" Luduo Bu dashed inside the array formation. This Dark Veil array formation was only 2-star Earth, and Cao Yun had to improvise it on the go. So it really wasn't that strong. Against the blood runes, it could easily confuse their senses as they had no spirituality. But Luduo Bu had no difficulty seeing through it.

Moreover, the flags of this array formation were perfectly visible. Moving a flag while the array formation was activated required enough strength to break apart the flow of Qi. But this array formation was so weak and the spirit stones feeding it so feeble that Luduo Bu only had to step on a flag to break it down completely.

Huang Cixi was so shocked when facing this insane cultivator covered in his own blood that she ended up being paralyzed by fear. Luduo Bu approached with an evil grin. Cao Yun was screaming in the back and used his fastest movement technique to bridge the gap. Luduo Bu raised his 'Red Frenzy' and performed 'Butcher's Cleaver'.

As his halberd fell down from above, ready to cleave Huang Cixi in half, Luduo Bu's eyes darted to the side. His real goal was not Huang Cixi. He knew for a fact that Cao Yun would try to protect her and he was fast enough to do so. He literally ran past the halberd wielding attacker and put himself right between him and his own servant.

Cao Yun used a lesser move of the 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars' manual called 'Mountain Under Thunder'. Putting a knee down, he raised his spear horizontally and blocked the halberd on the middle section of the shaft. This was not an optimal position because Luduo Bu could just rotate his halberd and cut off his fingers, but he had to act instinctively.

However, Luduo Bu did not follow this tactic. He used the spear as a spring to bounce back his halberd and revert its movement in a big vertical rotation. With the butt of the halberd, he hit Cao Yun under the spear, square in the chest. By reaction, Cao Yun pushed his spear down to block the halberd.

Still lying on the ground, Huang Cixi was only seeing the broad back of Cao Yun protecting her. All her feelings were in turmoil. She had been plotting against him since the beginning and yet he risked his life for her. In her mind, she even saw the face of her second brother. Then, her eyes got attracted to the terrifying wound on his back. She could literally see inside of him. Even if he won, his wounds would be horrifying. And he had not won yet.

Luduo Bu stepped to the side and took his halberd away. In the same move, using the fact that Cao Yun's spear was low, he tried to slash open his head with 'Crimson Horizon'. An horizontal slash came straight for the forehead of Cao Yun. Reversing his Qi, he was able to block with a diagonal spear and his knee was forced even more strongly into the ground. His kneecap almost broke on the spot.

Luduo Bu tried another attack but Cao Yun was still faster. He used 'The Pillar Piercing the Sky' to stab through Luduo Bu's head. However, he dodged with a very small movement and grabbed the spear right next to his face. Changing his grip, Cao Yun used his understanding of vibration with 'Slaughtering the Enemy'. 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' was a 5-star Earth rank weapon made with the scale of a dragon. Its metal could either become more rigid when it needed to, but also more flexible if need be. By sending his vibrations through it, the spear responded and undulated. The tip of the blade was thus sent directly into Luduo Bu's right eye.

Simultaneously, Luduo Bu used his free hand to plunge his halberd straight into Cao Yun's heart. Just when he was about to kill the boy, the pain from losing his eye kicked in. His trajectory changed and his halberd sank into Cao Yun's belly. Ignoring the pain, the boy changed his grip on the spear that Luduo Bu had let go of. The last bit of focus he had left was sent into one final 'The Pillar Piercing the Sky' aimed for Luduo Bu's heart. The spear pierced him through and through this time. And to be absolutely sure, Cao Yun used his vibration one last time. Outside, a popping sound was heard just as Luduo Bu's heart exploded in his chest.

With his last strength, the inner demon tried to budge the halberd. However, Cao Yun used 'Dragon's Chest'. The wounds in his back started to bleed back a little as he wasn't able to use this technique on two large parts of his body at the same time. However, it allowed him to strengthened the muscles of his abdomen and prevented the halberd from moving around.

With each other's weapons deep within their opponents, both men fell on their sides and Cao Yun saw the last light of life disappearing from Luduo Bu's eyes. Before losing consciousness himself, Cao Yun saw the image of his family and whispered.

"Father... mother... brother... patriarch... Huiying... I'm sorry... I failed you all..." Then, everything turned black.

Behind him, Huang Cixi heard all he said. Finally, she knew for sure! She had searched and had gathered intel. So she had a strong suspicion about Cao Yun's true identity. For starters, she knew that 'Chen Guo' was an invention. But she couldn't be sure that he really was from the Cao family even though the timeline seemed perfect. But after hearing the name 'Huiying', she knew for a fact that he was Cao Yun.

She remembered that her brother Huang Lixin had met this boy when he was younger. Maybe he had not killed him solely to save Feng yingyue but also to hide his own identity.

Many thoughts popped through her mind, but Huang Cixi put them aside. A red puddle was forming beneath the two men. Luduo Bu was dead for sure, a spear right through his heart. But Cao Yun was still alive. Huang Cixi knew that alchemy was an incredible art, defying heaven and earth in some matter. There had to be a way to save his life.

However, she was unsure whether she wanted to or not. She couldn't bring herself to really hate him. But the truth remained. Her direct family had been killed by this seemingly heroic boy, single-handedly. Deep down, Huang Cixi did not want him to die in such a way.

"You saved my life and I'll repay this karmic bond."

She decided to not move Cao Yun's body so as to not worsen the wounds in his abdomen. Instead, she used her own uniform to try and stop the hemorrhage in his back. It really wasn't much but it could give her some time and the distance was pretty long. Unable to move him, she had to bring the help to him.

She took the alchemist emblem of Cao Yun and pushed her legs to their limit, running toward the outer yard. Huang Cixi was cultivating not so long ago. Some excess of Qi still remained in her body, and she was going to use it all.

-

In the alchemy pavilion, Zhong Ling was back at the reception desk. As it was pretty soon in the morning, no one seemed to come by and she was bored. In front of her, there was an alchemy book. She was preparing to take the 4-star alchemy rank examination and she needed to study a lot. She was not as talented as Mei Hua or as Cao Yun.

Her thoughts got interrupted by the sounds of running. Exasperated she raised her eyes to see who was so brazen as to run within the alchemy pavilion. Seeing a small servant, she was terribly upset.

Huang Cixi did not take time to properly salute the receptionist. In haste, she put the emblem on the counter.

"Senior, my master is terribly wounded. I need Instructor Meng Jia's help. Please!"

Zhong Ling was taken aback by the urgency in her voice. Looking down, she saw that the emblem was covered in blood. Looking more closely to the young girl, her hands were also bloody and her uniform was missing some parts. Zhong Ling had a terrible feeling about this. If the servant was asking after Meng Jia, then...

Her fears turned out to be reality. Every emblem was craved with the name of its rightful owner. Ans this one was Cao Yun's.

"Where is he?" Zhong Ling became as agitated as the servant.

"In the outer yard. Please, he's bleeding a lot. I couldn't move him!"

Zhong Ling did not even respond. Immediately, she went running into Meng Jia's room. The instructor was still sleeping and got woken up in a haze.

"Instructor Meng Jia! Chen Guo is mortally wounded in the outer yard. His servant is at the counter." As soon as she gave the needed information, Meng Jia's eyes opened completely. A powerful gale of wind went right past Zhong Ling and took Huang Cixi on the way. Meng Jia was a late Mortal Warrior so he couldn't fly but he was extremely fast when he wanted to be.

Instead of going toward the outer yard, he went straight for the martial art pavilion. The doors opened abruptly and he caused a commotion. He did not run to the upper stairs. Instead, he stayed on the first floor, Huang Cixi under his arm, and screamed "Chief Elder Baishen!".

Immediately, an enraged Chief Elder Baishen appeared before him with her full cultivation in display.

"How dare you cause mayhem here?!"

"Chen Guo is dying. I need you to take me to him, now!" There was no time for pleasantries.

Chief Elder Baishen knew Instructor Meng Jia and his connection with both Xiao Xuefeng and Cao Yun. Analyzing his figure, she knew he was stating the truth and the girl in his arm was Cao Yun's servant. She was probably the one who had called for him and she knew where he was. Chief Elder Baishen made a gesture with her hand and both she and Meng Jia started to levitate.

"Just tell me the way."

All three of them went toward the outer yard, Huang Cixi leading her two seniors. Their flight in the middle of the Wubei Sect attracted many gazes. It was not strictly forbidden, but etiquette wanted that it had to be reduced to absolute necessities. If a chief elder decided to fly in broad daylight in the very heart of the outer yard, something major had to have happened.

Even by running with all her strength, Huang Cixi almost took half an hour. And she had even gone through the Heart Gate. This gate was supposed to be for the outer disciples only. Servants were forbidden to go through it but she was ready to be punished if need be. With the cultivation of a late Spirit Warrior, it took less than a minute for the three of them to get to Cao Yun's body.

As soon as she arrived, Chief Elder Baishen sent her spiritual senses all over Cao Yun and described all his wounds to Meng Jia. He then directed her to send surges of Qi in his body while he prepared a pill. From his spatial ring, many vials appeared on the ground. He asked Huang Cixi to explain exactly what had happened. She did not miss a single thing.

Chief Elder Baishen had stopped the bleeding thanks to Meng Jia's instruction and her masterful control over her own Qi. On the other hand, Meng Jia had chosen the perfect pill for the situation.