Cao Yun could feel his entire body on fire. At the same time, a terrifying cold was permeating his entire being. He was both in a lake of fire and in a frozen desert. The killing intent of Da Mo was surreal. Of course, Cao Yun had already experienced it before, but he was taking everything at once. Moreover, his cultivation had been mostly sealed by Emperor Weide's pseudo-Domain, and he had literally let the presence of Da Mo permeate from within himself in order to corrode his 'Domain of the Three Confluences'. As such, Cao Yun was suffering a lot.
Thankfully, Emperor Weide was also in a bad position. The backlash had injured him in his very soul. At the moment, Emperor Weide was stabilizing himself in order to protect his Soul Embryo. He couldn't tolerate any injury. Otherwise, his future as a Sage would be over before it even started. On the other hand, Cao Yun couldn't afford the luxury of thinking about his Soul Embryo. Hopefully, it wouldn't be injured, but he had more pressing matters to deal with.
Da Mo's presence was corroding the very air around Cao Yun, so one could imagine what it was doing to both his flesh and his soul. The young man was pouring everything he could into his fight against the Demon God. Even a fragment of his soul was terrifying. After all, it was the soul of a Reborn Demon ready to step into the Immortal Demon realm. As such, Cao Yun focused most of his strength through the Drop of Wrath, the blood of Axiu Qian, an asura who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation. Cao Yun was relying on his blood vitality in order to survive the ordeal.
Although freeing Da Mo's presence was extremely dangerous, Cao Yun wasn't suicidal. He had an idea. Within him was still the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill. Unfortunately, it also contained the Shattered Soul Hellbloom. But Cao Yun had no other choice at the moment. For an instant, he wondered whether he should take another Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill, but it would be a bad decision. His current problem wasn't related to the efficiency of the pill, but to the traps he had laid within himself. Ironically, Cao Yun might get killed by his own traps. The irony wasn't lost on the young man.
With a face full of pain, Cao Yun began to focus on the pill within. As an alchemist, he could control medicinal essence and even poison much better than any other cultivator. Besides, he had helped refine the pill and had put the poison there himself after preparing it alone. In other words, he was even better at controlling this specific pill than Spirit Masters Hua and Xiao. However, he was also in a lot of pain and stress, as well as in the middle of a fight. In other words, it was extremely difficult, but he was confident he could do it. Inside Emperor Weide's pseudo-Domain, Cao Yun knew he had no fighting chance, but now he had one, no matter how slim it might be.
Completely disregarding his opponent, Cao Yun hoped that the backlash would be enough to keep him busy and that the guards wouldn't break through the array formations before he was done. Thus, he fully entered his sea of consciousness and pushed his mind cultivation to the limit, relying on the Weaver of Souls' main method, 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'. With his intent, fully infused with the Drop of Wrath, Cao Yun made his way toward the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill. Once there, he infused the pill with his intent and began to unravel the various threads of medicinal essence while avoiding the poison as much as he could. All around the pill, Cao Yun brought his Golden Blood.
Slowly, Cao Yun moved the pill closer and closer to his heart. Although it meant that the poison could affect him faster, it also meant that his Drop of Wrath could suppress the presence of Da Mo better. At the same time, his Golden Blood was able to resist the poison much better than a normal human's blood. Anyway, despite the risks, this was Cao Yun's best bet.
Suddenly, he felt the medicinal essence enter his heart, his Middle Dantian. In an instant, it made its way directly into Cao Yun's Upper Dantian. A bright light tore apart the darkness of Da Mo. Like lightning in the infinite sky, a bolt of pure white struck toward the Nine Soul Peaks. This powerful lightning went straight for Cao Yun's Soul Embryo, and he let it happen. His silver Soul Embryo absorbed the energy and emitted a radiant light that pushed the darkness away. Cao Yun's Nine Soul Peaks also seemed to shine a little, and some electricity sizzled around them.
Just after being pushed back, the darkness struck back with a vengeance. This infinite mantle of pure black pressed even more strongly against Cao Yun's Nine Soul Peaks. Fortunately, it still couldn't pierce the center of Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. However, this created immense pressure on Cao Yun's soul. At this moment, Cao Yun decided to use it for his 'Intimate Through Despair and Agony' cultivation method. The pressure on both his soul and Soul Embryo was forcing them closer together. Simultaneously, the medicinal essence from the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill was energizing them both. The Spiritual Harmony step was approaching grand success faster and faster. However, the pain and strain were no laughing matter.
Cao Yun could literally hear his own soul and Soul Embryo wailing in pain. Through this pain, they were getting closer and closer. Obviously, it was beyond dangerous. But his Soul Embryo was sturdy enough, and it could bear the pressure.
With his mind cultivation pushed further and further, the time within Cao Yun's mind was so slowed that hours passed inside his sea of consciousness while not even a stick of incense had burned. Unfortunately, most of that time was spent in abject agony. That being said, Cao Yun focused on his goal. He had to kill Emperor Weide and save his sister. Nothing else existed within him. It was his sole purpose.
More and more lightning bolts struck his Soul Embryo. Each time, the presence of Da Mo seemed to take it personally. It wanted to crush this young man's soul. As such, the pressure over his Nine Soul Peaks was getting increasingly powerful and brutal. Most likely, the lightning bolts were injuring Da Mo's presence, so it lashed out toward the young man. Thanks to the Drop of Wrath, the center of his sea of consciousness was protected, and so was his heart. Now and then, though, a surge of the Shattered Soul Hellbloom escaped the pill. For now, Cao Yun's Golden Blood had been able to neutralize the poison. After all, the young man knew everything about the poison. If he were at the peak of his constitution and had enough time and calmness, Cao Yun could easily get rid of the poison, especially when he was expecting it. Unfortunately, he wasn't in such a condition at the moment.
Suddenly, thunder roared throughout Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. His Soul Embryo let out a powerful roar, and a light as bright as the Sun erupted. It engulfed absolutely everything. Even Da Mo's presence was pushed back and vanished for an instant. Sadly, it quickly came back. Like a deadly wave, it came crashing down on the Nine Soul Peaks and pushed this intense light back. Such an assault almost cracked Cao Yun's Soul Embryo. Thankfully, it resisted because it had just broken through. Indeed, Cao Yun was now officially an 8th-grade Spirit Warrior. His soul and his Soul Embryo had merged together. His soul wasn't just inside his Soul Embryo, it was his Soul Embryo.
The silver Cao Yun at the center of the Nine Soul Peaks opened his eyes, and a piercing light stabbed through the darkness. Where it looked, the presence of Da Mo was shaken but not dispelled.
As an 8th-grade Spirit Warrior, Cao Yun's goal should now be to open his Third Eye. To be more accurate, he had to open his Soul Embryo's Third Eye. Indeed, this point located at the glabella was the only way for one's Soul Embryo to observe and study the Dao. As such, an 8th-grade Spirit Warrior had to first open it and then, as a 9th-grade Spirit Warrior, they had to focus it through their body's Bai Hui in order to pierce through the veil of the Dao. This was the Greater Tribulation. If one succeeded, they could then study the various Dao in nature in order to slowly make their way to an understanding of the complete Dao. This was the Sage realm, where one could study and manipulate the lesser Dao all around.
There were many ways to open one's Third Eye. In fact, Cao Yun had studied the matter and had found the best possible way to do so without risking damaging his Soul Embryo. However, there were faster ways that could damage or even destroy one's Soul Embryo. Seeing that his Soul Embryo was able to push back Da Mo's presence even a little, Cao Yun had no other choice. Right now, he was playing for his survival, he couldn't be coy or care about his future. In fact, he was quite ready to throw his future away if he could survive, and, above all else, save his sister.
As such, Cao Yun used the most effective and most barbaric method he knew, 'Blinding the Eye of Truth'. Cao Yun focused all the lightning bolts extracted from the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill directly toward the glabella of his Soul Embryo. As the pill was being consumed, it became easier and easier for Cao Yun to extract medicinal essence. However, it also became easier and easier for the Shattered Soul Hellbloom to spread.
Cao Yun's Golden Blood tried to stop the spread of the Shattered Soul Hellbloom, but it was harder and harder as it was heavily concentrated. Several strands of the poison entered Cao Yun's bloodstream. Here and there, buboes appeared on Cao Yun's skin. Within them, there were high concentrations of Death Energy and Ghost Energy. Although Cao Yun was less sensitive to those energies, it was unpleasant nonetheless. Within his own body, the poison was making its way toward his Lower Dantian. As far as Cao Yun knew, the Shattered Soul Hellbloom would target his pre-natal Jing. Most of Cao Yun's Po was still in the form of Death Energy. Thus, he sent some of his own Po to guard his Lower Dantian. The Qi within turned into Evil Qi, mostly. This Evil Qi was able to corrode even the Shattered Soul Hellbloom. Ironically, Da Mo's presence also weakened the Shattered Soul Hellbloom.
Ignoring the pain as much as he could, Cao Yun focused on his Soul Embryo. Even though he was letting the poison spread in his bloodstream, the young man simply made sure that he could survive and keep on cultivating. More and more lightning bolts struck his Soul Embryo's glabella. Small cracks literally began to appear. Cao Yun's cultivation method was tearing apart his own Soul Embryo, which was now his very soul. But he didn't mind.
Usually, opening one's Third Eye would take around five years. This step really wasn't the most difficult. But how well the Third Eye was open and how traumatic it had been for the Soul Embryo would directly impact one's ability to succeed in the Greater Tribulation. In other words, it would be almost impossible for Cao Yun to succeed if he forced his Third Eye open. On the other hand, it would be absolutely impossible if he simply died here and now. As such, he didn't care about the future anymore. His only goal was to open his Third Eye.
The forehead of his Soul Embryo was now sizzling with electricity. The silver hue had become a charred gray with many small cracks all over the place. In the center of those cracks, one could somewhat see a faint slit. At the very least, Cao Yun had manifested his Third Eye. He didn't let up. In fact, he became even more intense. Cao Yun was pouring all of the medicinal essence from the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill directly into the slit that was starting to shake. To be honest, his entire Soul Embryo was shaking. But one could tell that this slit was acting like an eyelid in the morning. It was fighting with all its strength to stay closed, as if afraid of the light.
With no regard for his safety, Cao Yun used his mind cultivation to its limits to also pour fire into his Soul Embryo. His Shen, the Fire Spirit, melted the Five Aspects that tried to penetrate his Third Eye. The gold of his Yi, the Earth Intent, melted and began to drip into his Third Eye, drop by drop.
Cao Yun's entire body was shivering and shaking. Buboes were now spreading, but they were not visible under his clothes. His very flesh was slowly dying under the effects of the Shattered Soul Hellbloom, but his vitality was fighting it. His Golden Blood was preserving his organs and his vitality, while his Lower Dantian was protecting his pre-natal Jing thanks to Evil Qi. All of Cao Yun's being, flesh, mind, and soul, had become a battlefield. The worst thing was that he was fighting in order to destroy his own future.
No matter how much his Soul Embryo rejected it, Cao Yun poured more and more medicinal essence into it.
At last, his Soul Embryo couldn't take it anymore. With a monstrous thunderclap, his Third Eye opened. In an instant, a golden and silvery light drowned everything within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. Even Da Mo's presence was eclipsed and swallowed by this sudden change. Outside Cao Yun, Da Mo's presence flickered as well. But it didn't give up, instead, it became that much more violent. But it couldn't enter Cao Yun's sea of consciousness anymore. In fact, more of Da Mo's presence exuded from Cao Yun's body, it was being expelled. As such, it wanted to lash out and kill the young man who had dared to chase it.
Unbeknownst to all, another ethereal presence woke up when Da Mo became stronger outside Cao Yun's body. This presence immediately looked at Cao Yun as he was in the center of Da Mo's black soul.