Lu Xiaoya was still observing the array formations all around the Holy Hongxue City. As she was outside of the Temple of Grace and Submission, she had absolutely no protection against the 'Bloody Soul Battlefield Disaster' and the 'Fiery Torment of the Hellish Tree' array formations apart from her own spiritual senses. Besides, she was also pushing her perception to its limit, trying to figure out where the Gates and Palaces were. In fact, she had mostly deciphered all array formations in the city. Within the temple, she had found Bamboo Maps as well as plans for the array formations. Several people from the city had helped her gather enough information as well.
Her current problem was to make them work together. In her mind, she could see the various array formations, but she had a hard time when it came to overlapping them. Considering that Cao Yun had intertwined his array formations, she had to understand the synergy between them all. Otherwise, unraveling one array formation could trigger others. Moreover, if she could pinpoint which array formations were the cornerstone of the entire structure, they could take everything down more easily. On the other hand, it would take more work for her. That being said, she also felt bad about lying to her Marshal and forcing him to make a decision.
Because of her, he had been forced to stretch his principles. For her Marshal, she knew it was a difficult thing to do. He was an honorable man. But even she thought he was a bit foolish. It was obvious that the Empyrean Asura had made a deal with him due to the wars. Once there was no more trouble, he would turn his sight back toward the Langyin Region. There was no way the Empyrean Asura could accept having someone who still refused his Heavenly Demon God Faith. And even if he somehow could stomach it, his own priests would push for it. After all the atrocities they had committed, she knew that they would stoop as low as breaking their Empyrean Asura's vows.
Lu Xiaoya also knew that her Marshal was fully aware of that. And yet, he had made that vow... If she didn't trust him, she might have defected. In fact, she was even starting to wonder what they were actually doing. Fighting humans at the border was one thing, the feud between humans and demons was several millenniums old. Although she didn't care for it, she wasn't emotionally involved either. Demons and humans had always killed one another and this was just war. Even killing demons from other territories during war was not a problem for her. But right now, they had been asked to bring order back to the entire region. And they all knew that at some point they would have to kill or terrorize mere civilians. They were not soldiers, some of them were barely even cultivators. Somehow, the Six Fangs Generals were hoping that the mere presence of the Silver Wolf Marshal would calm everyone. But they were all wondering what they would do should it fail. Could they really kill unarmed civilians, children...?
As she was full of doubts, she saw the large shadow of Zhai Tiesheng. He had come out to protect her from the threats of the array formations.
"Are you insane?! You should rest!"
As usual, the large man did not speak. He simply kept on following her around. Seeing that she couldn't change his mind, she let him be. While she was working on deciphering the array formations, he was offering her some cover.
At last, the two of them felt a presence rapidly approaching. Obviously, they recognized it even through the killing intent of the 'Bloody Soul Battlefield Disaster' array formation. That was their Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. He was still wearing his full armor, but he had no helmet and his voluminous white hair formed some kind of mane along with his beard. Everyone could see why he had gotten this nickname. Although his hair was white and not silver, the light going through them could sometimes give that impression because of his silver armor. Besides, his face clearly looked like a ferocious beast when he wanted it to, which was the case at the moment.
"Did you figure it out?"
Although his tone was rough, Lu Xiaoya could see through him as if he was shouting his emotions. He was worried about her. He knew why she had lied and he had also been pleased by the death of those priests. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that those had been absolutely degenerate maniacs. However, he was still hurt about bending the rules and his own morals for the situation. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was really a black-and-white kind of man. Any form of compromise was seen as morally evil. At the moment he was sick because this vision of the world had collided with reality itself and he wasn't able to process it. To be fair, he was a great ruler and when war came, he was also a great warrior and marshal. But the current situation had taken him out of his elements.
"I think I could mostly take down the array formations. But I'm still looking for a better way. Right now, my one way would almost be brute force. If I can only find some overlapping Gates of Life, I'll be able to..."
"Useless. Just tell me what to do and I'll tear all of them down. No need to waste more time here. I want to get out of this city as soon as possible. Point the weaknesses and I'll destroy them."
As he was speaking, the Silver Wolf Marshal showcased all of his strength. His mere presence pushed back the killing intent of the 'Bloody Soul Battlefield Disaster' array formation. Moreover, one could hear distant echoes of hymns and sutras reciting esoteric verses. Marshal Shanyin Guan appeared as a paragon of virtue who could bring wisdom and knowledge to all. His words could annihilate any wicked creature and cast it into oblivion.
Behind his back, hundreds of javelins, double-ended tridents, double-ended spears and many polearms appeared, from battle staffs to monk's spades. They created a powerful image as they were forming concentric circles slowly moving behind him.
Without adding any more words, Lu Xiaoya indicated to him exactly where all the weaknesses she had found out where. At the moment, there were more than three hundred forty-two points that had to be taken down. Some even needed to be attacked at the same moment. Considering that the array formations were also moving around, waiting too long between two attacks might result in failing to strike the correct spot.
"One Root."
The Silver Wolf Marshal began to chant himself. The distant voices echoed his own words. They were spreading in all eight directions. Lu Xiaoya and Zhai Tiesheng knew exactly what was going on. Even within the Temple of Grace and Submission, the other Six Fangs Generals understood what was happening and began to leave. They knew that the array formations would soon break apart. Nothing could stand before their Marshal when he unleashed this full technique.
"Two Ways."
A powerful silver light emerged from the Marshal. His once ferocious face looked like the face of a sage. His long white hair and beard made him look like a wise old man despite having the face of a middle-aged man. His wisdom and virtue seemed to permeate his entire being.
"Three Bonds."
The weapons behind him were flying around like crazy. It was almost as if a storm was pushing them around.
"Four Sprouts."
Several fiery bolts of lightning fell down from the sky. None of them reached the Silver Wolf Marshal. He was isolated from any impurities of the world.
"Five Virtues."
Suddenly, all the polearms behind him stopped moving. The air froze. He was forming various mudras with his hands. And one could see the mudras appearing in the weapons. Although they weren't moving, they looked like they were forming strange shapes if one looked at them. It was as if esoteric secrets were hidden in the way they were arranged.
"All Severed."
All those perfectly still weapons exploded. The shafts holding each end of the weapons burst out into countless shards. All those fragments scattered all over the place. If one listened carefully, they would also hear some strange howling. It was coming from Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's own soul. His own Demon Soul was screaming out in silence. But it endured as several internal voices were silenced.
"No Return."
Finally, all the extremities of the weapons flew in many directions. They were targeting every spot shown by Lu Xiaoya. All Six Fangs Generals were now watching the scene. Apparently, their Marshal had chosen not to unleash the full strength of his 'Severance of Oaths'. After all, using the full technique might damage his very soul. They had been worried but thankfully it had been for nothing. Despite his current bad mood, he was still calm enough to contain his frustration. Honestly, they all reproached themselves for thinking that he wouldn't be able to control himself. After all, he was their Marshal, he wasn't some kid who was unable to restrain his impulses. Even if demons had stronger emotions, they also had stronger wills, at least if they cultivated it properly.
From the outside, one could see the dome of pure darkness from a distance. Anyone who would have looked at it would have been suddenly blinded. Indeed, a powerful silvery light pierced through the darkness and spread. In an instant, everything collapsed. It was as though the Sun had come out from behind the Moon, flashing over the Piaolu planet for an instant before everything went back to normal. The entire Holy Hongxue City was now free.
-
In Cao Yun's cave, the young man was meditating cross-legged. Although he had not fully recovered, he was awake and could focus on his cultivation. Thanks to his powerful mind cultivation, recovering from the intense fatigue was only a matter of time. Unfortunately, staying in this cave was dangerous. Although Hongyu had been smart and had flown as far away as she could, Cao Yun had terrible feeling. He couldn't exactly tell why, but he felt as though those Six Fangs Generals could find him easily.
In his current state, Cao Yun couldn't perceive the seal left behind by Xun Lieren. Not even Dian Mo had been able to see through them at the moment. To be fair, Dian Mo was more worried about Cao Yun's soul. And even now, he was suppressing the Devouring Robber. Keeping it suppressed was becoming harder and harder. But freeing it would most likely mean death for the young man. Thus, Dian Mo waited for Cao Yun to recover enough. The spirit was reaching his breaking point though.
"You can't keep it up, can you?"
Cao Yun's voice surprised Dian Mo who was almost solely focused on his task. Suppressing the Devouring Robber was becoming everything to him.
"I don't know what you're talking about, boy... Keep your mind on your recovery. You've been able to protect your Soul Embryo, but if you don't recover fully, you might damage it anyway."
"And if that thing destroys you, it will be even harder for me to deal with it."
"What thing?!"
"Stop being stupid! I'm not blind. And as young as I am to you, I'm not a kid. Stop protecting me with your life! I thought you wanted to steal my body and ravage the world..."
"Yes, I do want that actually..."
The two of them burst out laughing, lowering the tension between them.
"Boy, I understand what you're hinting at. But in your current condition, you can't tame this Turbid Demon. Maybe your Drop of Wrath can help, of course, but you would seriously put your Soul Embryo at risk. You can recover from soul fatigue, but you can't repair your Soul Embryo."
"You're right. That being said, at some point, the Devouring Robber will get the better of you. Then it will attack me and you won't even be there to help me. Do I have a better chance to succeed with you helping me or completely alone, even if I recover a bit more?"
"That's..."
"Instead of waiting for it to grow stronger and stronger and to break free, it would be smarter to let it out under control. Don't just let it loose all of a sudden, but bit by bit. That way, we can control how difficult this breakthrough is. On the other hand, if he just breaks free all of a sudden, we're both screwed. What say you?"
Dian Mo was uncomfortable but he knew that Cao Yun was right. If they didn't take the risk, they might suffer more in the future. However, Dian Mo also worried about the Six Fangs Generals. If they attacked in the middle of the breakthrough, this would be a disaster. On the other hand, if the Devouring Robber broke out in the middle of a fight, this would also be a disaster. In fact, they might still be able to suppress the Devouring Robber if they attempted the breakthrough and had to stop it midway. But if he broke out, that was it, the genie would be out of the bottle for good...
"Fine... But are you really ready at the moment? You should rest some more."
"The more we wait, the stronger it becomes and the weaker you become. If I grow stronger but my enemy is even more impressive and my ally weakened, what was the point? Besides... I feel like our enemies could arrive at any moment. My array formations won't keep them trapped forever."
"..."
Dian Mo was extremely worried. The worst part was that Cao Yun's words were making a lot of sense.
"Fine. We'll do as you ask. But don't you dare die on me, boy. Focus on your Drop of Wrath and try to protect your Soul Embryo."
"Don't worry. I've already planned for this. Just give me a few moments to sift through some texts."