Honestly, Cao Yun wanted to try out several things in this environment, but even staying there too long was taking a huge toll on his soul. Although it might be a great place to temper his soul, and maybe even attempt to pierce a few secrets of the Dao of Death, he didn't have enough time. Besides, he could always do all that once he was done with his current plans. For the moment, he focused solely on what he needed to do to kill his enemies. From what he could tell, the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards were only two weeks away at most. In other words, he didn't have much time to prepare.

Unfortunately, Cao Yun didn't have enough time to set up everything he wanted. From his spatial ring, he took out several bones from the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. He had to get them ready as soon as possible as they might be the most essential part of his plan to trick the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. For the moment, Cao Yun had the advantage because he knew what the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards were looking for, but they didn't know about him at all. The longer he could hold this advantage, the higher his chances of success would be.

Dian Mo was observing and taking it all in. With his knowledge, he was obviously able to tell what Cao Yun was trying to do. He had to admit that the boy was thorough. But, still, Dian Mo was afraid and worried. The 5th Imperial Brocade Guards were a real threat. Of course, Cao Yun might be able to escape. However, they were coming here with the intent of slaying a 9-core demonic beasts, it was impossible to tell what kind of means they had. Unfortunately, Dian Mo knew it was impossible to reason with Cao Yun. Indeed, the boy knew how dangerous it was, but it was a great opportunity for him & he couldn't pass it by. Thankfully, he wasn't irrational and Dian mo could see several ways for Cao Yun to escape if necessary.

-

In the Huogu Province, a group from the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards was looking for the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. It wasn't unusual for the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards to split off during missions. Emperor Weide had directly asked them to get this specific demonic beast. In fact, they had known about it for quite some time, but they had let it prosper on the desolation of the Huogu Province. Now, it should be mature enough for the Emperor's purposes. Although the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards didn't know what those were, they didn't care at all. After all, they were loyal to him to a fault.

This section of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards was led by Yan Huoling. She was a beautiful woman with generous curves that even her black and red armor couldn't conceal. On her head, her hair was tied into a very complex shape with golden ornaments. Although she had very severe and serious eyes, her face was quite warm. In fact, she even looked kind. But her men knew that if someone were to cross her, they would end up as ashes before even understanding what had happened to them. Her warmth was very welcoming to those she favored, but it turned into hellish flames against her enemies.

Her troops only amounted to forty-seven cultivators under her command. However, four of them were 6th-grade Spirit Warriors, and she was a 7th-grade Spirit Warrior herself. While she was in the middle of their marching formation, the other four 6th-grade Spirit Warriors were surrounding it, as cornerstones. Since they didn't want the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu to notice them, they couldn't fly. But they still had to fight off the evil energies around them. Thankfully, Yan Huoling was an expert in flame arts, as were most of the soldiers in her formation.

In fact, Yan Huoling was known as the Beautiful Hell Orchid and her troops as the Orchid's Ashes. That name came from the fact that Yan Huoling had the custom of burning down all her enemies to the point that her troops ended up covered in ashes several times. Yan Huoling always thought of her strategies as merciful because she killed everyone instantly without causing any unnecessary suffering. Of course, admiring her work always sent cold shivers down the spine of anyone. Entire landscapes had been turned into ashes after she had visited her mercy on her targets.

With her in the center and her four commandants in the corners, they were covering their troops with a thin layer of flames. Almost no evil energy could get in and it was too faint to be discovered from afar. Suddenly, they all stopped. No one gave any order and yet they all perfectly stopped at the same moment. Any onlooker would have had the impression that those forty-eight cultivators were of one mind. To be fair, they had trained and fought together for hundreds of years at this point. They could react before receiving any orders. Their battle formations were just that impressive.

"General Yan, we've sensed the aura of the quarry."

"Good. Stay alert and be very careful. I sense something unusual around here. Be ready to send for reinforcements at a moment's notice."

Commandant Hei was surprised by General Yan's comment, but he didn't let it show. It was rare for her to rely on reinforcements. Surely, she had to have felt something. Although she couldn't quite tell what was scaring her, she knew better than to doubt her intuition.

-

Finally, Cao Yun could sense the presence of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. They were using flame arts and his Rune of Fire was reacting. However, its reaction worried Cao Yun a little. Indeed, even his Rune of Fire seemed to cower in fear. Although it was excited, it was also afraid. The young hesitated for an instant but he couldn't back off now. He had to see this through. Thankfully, he wouldn't have to fight the entire 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, only a small unit of them. It was going exactly as planned.

Indeed, even Cao Yun didn't think so highly of himself that he would take on the entire 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. So he had used several bones from the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu to create decoys. What he had hoped for had happened, they had split off into several teams. Cao Yun would just have to deal with them at his leisure. And if things were going very bad, he could simply disappear without fighting them all. Some teams were weaker than others, but the one going in his direction was quite exceptional, it seemed. In fact, they seemed even stronger than those who had attacked the Cao family.

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Cao Yun was using his 'Ashen Feather Stealth' to the limit in order to hide himself. Besides, he was also hiding his spiritual senses within the strands of Death Energy thanks to his 'Death Verses'. A large part of his own Po had been turned into Death Energy, so no one would be able to notice him within this environment. Thanks to that, he was also able to spread his spiritual senses without being detected. Indeed, his very soul was melting within the Death Energy in the air. No cultivator would imagine that Death Energy was in fact a living being's soul. On the other hands, other cultivators couldn't do so easily so their own spiritual senses were limited.

At last, Cao Yun perceived the Orchid's Ashes. From what he had learned, he immediately knew who they were and what they were capable of. His mind went back to the demonic cultivators who had been blamed for his family's death. Only ashes had remained of them. Most likely, it was Yan Huoling's doing. So she might be closer to those who had slaughtered the Cao family than Cao Yun had initially thought. Although the main culprit wasn't among this group, this would still be worth his time and efforts.

Yan Huoling kept on marching, but her steps were slowing down. It was almost imperceptible, but she was clearly slowing down. Her own men were perfectly synchronized with her even without receiving any order or looking at her in any way.

After a few more minutes, they were getting closer to Cao Yun's trap. Under the ground, he had buried a bone of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu and used an array formation to make it release the aura of the beast as though it were here, and alive.

Suddenly, Cao Yun heard Dian Mo's voice.

"Fly!"

Without thinking, Cao Yun obeyed, hearing the horror in Dian Mo's voice.

Just as Cao Yun gave away his position by flying straight toward the sky, the entire area got covered in flames. From Yan Huoling, petals of fire erupted. A giant flower bloomed all around her and her men. Flames of many colors appeared and destroyed everything all around them. Maybe it was because the Rune of Fire was afraid, or maybe it was because Yan Huoling was just better than him but Cao Yun had not felt any variation in the Qi or the heat around the area. Without Dian Mo's last-minute warning, Cao Yun would have already suffered a lot. Thankfully, Dian Mo had been more focused at that moment.

'Blooming of the Imperial War Decree'.

Before he could regain his wits, Yan Huoling had already flown in Cao Yun's direction.

'Crimson Tide March'!

All her men flew in various directions. From the ground, the large flower exploded in dozens of different colors. Smaller petals were blown all over the place, flying into the air as well. Cao Yun was completely surrounded by those petals and the Orchid's Ashes. Yan Huoling was flying straight toward him. She had no weapon in hand, but her hands were covered in a layer of flames. Cao Yun could see two flowers in her palms.

As she got close to him, the young man was able to take out his spear at the very last moment. Yan Huoling's palms struck toward the young man. At this very moment, the flame petals all flew toward Cao Yun as well, completely cutting off any retreat and trying to kill him on the spot. The air itself caught on fire and Cao Yun's body was engulfed in flames just before Yan Huoling's palms connected.

'Imperial Throne'!

A large pillar of air swirled around Cao Yun. Unfortunately, his martial arts weren't very good against Yan Huoling's 'Imperial Flame Banner Sutra'. Indeed, his arts relied heavily on the Wood element that obviously fed the Fire element. And without his Rune of Fire to help him, he had a clear disadvantage. Indeed, the Rune of Fire was cowering before the flame used by Yan Huoling. Still, Cao Yun's body could survive in lava so those flames weren't enough to kill him. His tornado was still able to prevent the petals from reaching him. However, they fanned the flames and caused the heat to increase even more. Soon, his tornado turned into a giant pillar of fire. Most early Spirit Warriors would have been cooked alive in it. Clearly, Yan Huoling had gone on many military expeditions. No matter what opponent she was fighting, she was going all-out. The best outcome was to obliterate the enemy before he could do anything at all.

Even now, Cao Yun had a hard time gaining his momentum. Without any hesitation, he circulated all of his cultivation, even his asura cultivation. He couldn't allow himself to be indecisive. Yan Huoling's battle formation was powerful enough to even kill a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior who wasn't careful. So Cao Yun actually needed his 9th-grade Accomplished Demon cultivation.

'Son of Heaven's Chariot Tramples the Nine Skies'!

Cao Yun stabbed directly toward Yan Huoling. Suddenly, the tornado stopped moving. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if time had stopped. Then, the tornado immediately spun in the opposite direction with even more rage. From the fury of the blazing inferno, a chariot appeared with dragon-like horses. They trampled on all of creation. As the chariot was going straight for Yan Huoling, it went through several petals of flame. Each one exploded with different colors that began to mix with one another.

'Heaven-Scorching Standard'!

All the soldiers around the battlefield sent their Qi in various directions. Their every movement was synchronized. All around Cao Yun and the soldiers, a large flower of flames appeared. Even the Death Energy was pushed back. Of course, some remained in the confines of the flower, but it was faint. In fact, even the Qi in the air was being burned away by this intense heat.

Yan Huoling simply sent her palm toward the raging chariot. Thousands of petals flew between her and Cao Yun's spear. As each one exploded, it reduced Cao Yun's momentum more and more until it was weak enough for Yan Huoling to grab his spear. Her other palm was ready and she struck Cao Yun's heart.

Before her palm could land, Cao Yun kicked her with all his strength. At first, she was ready to block it. But she soon realized the strength of her opponent. Without a moment's delay, she redirected her palm toward Cao Yun's leg. Instead of trying to block it, she literally pushed against his leg to fly away faster. Even then, she coughed up blood. The air pressure alone had injured her organs. Cao Yun's body was much more impressive than she had thought. Only then did she realize he was a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon.

Seeing the realization in Yan Huoling's eyes, Cao Yun knew this was the moment. He couldn't let anyone escape. Suddenly, thousands of swords emerged from the ground all over the place. They completely surrounded the Orchid's Ashes. Among those swords, there were small bones of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. While Cao Yun was trapped in this burning flower, the flower itself was trapped in a corrosive shell of Death Energy and even Ghost Energy. The two barriers collided and began to clash the very moment Cao Yun's formation was born. Around the large flame flower, nine hideous serpents appeared and coiled around it.

Yan Huoling could tell that those weren't serpents. She knew her quarry well enough to recognize the heads of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. Obviously, all her soldiers also came to the realization that they had fallen into a trap. That being said, as long as Cao Yun was alone, they still had a chance to win. No terror or panic spread among the soldiers. In fact, they became even more serious and disciplined. Yan Huoling was the best suited to get them out of this situation and they trusted her wholly.

'Burning Brocade Formation'!

The four 6th-grade Spirit Warriors burst into flames, so did Yan Huoling. There was no fear or pain in their eyes, instead, there was a cold determination. Cao Yun had to die!

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