Chapter 668: Dark massacre above the clouds

The battlefield was in utter chaos after Cao Yun's relentless attacks. Even the full speed of the Supplicant Tyrants had not been enough to stop him. Most if not all Accomplished Demons had been killed and the morale of the remaining demons was crushed. That was when the demonic beasts got their leader back. With Hongyu managing the demonic beasts, they quickly dealt with any survivor. Cao Yun had been absolutely clear and no demon could be allowed to live. For several minutes the demonic beasts slaughtered every single demon who was still breathing. Then, they made sure that the corpses were really dead.

While all of that was going on on the ground, Cao Yun had taken the fight high in the air. He was literally fighting the three Supplicant Tyrants and General Meng Tian above the clouds. Unfortunately his 'Dome of White Lightning' had crumbled after being overused and attacked for so long. To be fair, it had endured for a very long time. Cao Yun was proud of his work but he was already thinking about improving it. Even Dian Mo within his sea of consciousness was impressed by this creation. Of course, it was nowhere near what Dian mo could imagine as the spirit of the Temple of Supreme Wisdom, but for a Spirit Warrior, this was great. Clearly, Cao Yun was at the level of a 5-star Heaven array formation master.

In fact, Dian Mo was wondering whether Cao Yun could be considered a 1-star Spirit array formation master. There was no requirement on one's cultivation from this point forward but reaching such a level without being able to understand the Dao was extremely difficult. Technically Xiao Xuefeng had almost reached this level with her alchemy without this ability as she hadn't broken through to the Sage realm. Although this question wasn't really interesting to Cao Yun, it was to Dian Mo. Indeed, a Spirit array formation master could create an array formation that contained a real spirit. Since Dian Mo was such a spirit, obviously his interest was piqued.

Of course, this was neither the time nor the place to think about this. Indeed, Cao Yun was using all of his cultivation and martial arts to fight his enemies. His sea of consciousness was completely red with his Drop of Wrath. His seven Turbid Demons, even the still forming Devouring Robber, were fully manifested with chains trapping them in the Nine Soul Peaks and even linking them to the large figure of Axiu Qian. From Cao Yun's Soul Embryo, a powerful light was filling the space between the skies and the ocean while engulfing both his Drop of Wrath and his Five Aspects. Within this light, one could still see the Rune of Fire that was being surrounded by Cao Yun's Black Heart Flame, both nourished by his Shen the Fire Spirit.

In the air, a golden hue vibrated with the hymns and mantras of Cao Yun's Spear Heart in the shape of a scripture. Above in the sky, the Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars were clearly visible with four Constellations already fully formed. Thus Cao Yun had achieved True Success in the second layer of the 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars'. And with his Spear Heart combined with it, he was one of the strongest martial artists in the entire Piaolu planet irrespective of his cultivation level.

Within Cao Yun's body, the young man could feel every single one of his cells. His Golden Blood was flowing like a torrent while he could feel the world tree coiling around his meridians, strengthening them even further. His recent breakthrough was still slowly improving his body. By fighting, Cao Yun's sensations were getting stronger and stronger. In fact, he felt as though he was the most powerful cultivator in existence. Of course, this was just a feeling created by his exhilaration. But, honestly, the fact that he had just slaughtered an entire battlefield felt incredibly good. As a child he had been powerless. But if he was to face those who had killed his family he would be able to fight back. He was more powerful than his great-grandfather Cao Beiwen who had been a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior despite having a slightly weaker Qi cultivation.

Around Cao Yun, his enemies were all weaker cultivators but the difference wasn't much. And the main problem was that the three Supplicant Tyrants had a great battle formation. Fighting the three of them together was already tough but Cao Yun had no doubt he could best them. The main problem was that he also had to fight General Meng Tian who wasn't too weak either. Obviously he would constantly harass Cao Yun while the young man would be fighting the three Supplicant Tyrants. Cao Yun had to take one of them out as soon as possible.

All things considered, Cao Yun decided to kill the Supplicant Tyrant whose armor was already broken apart. He was the weakest at the moment and his death would diminish the strength of all three Supplicant Tyrants, well the strength of the two remaining Supplicant Tyrants.

'Dark Secrets of the Heavens'!

General Meng Tian didn't wait for Cao Yun to act. He circulated his blood cultivation and created a Qi Manifestation. The clouds beneath them turned into pure darkness and the bright Sun above them was concealed by his 'Mastodon Bone Smasher'. Within this darkness, the three Supplicant Tyrants were more protected from their environment and the Pure Yang nature of the Sun. Thus, the corpse in the broken armor could endure longer. That being said, Cao Yun used this moment when all lights diminished to disappear.

He pushed his 'Ashen Feather Seal' to its limit and his presence ceased. Against such opponents, it would only buy him a few instants as each fighter was spreading their spiritual senses all over the place. However, this gave Cao Yun the opportunity to strike in surprise. The next instant, the young man appeared behind the broken armor. Before anyone could notice him, he struck. Instead of using his spear, Cao Yun used his fists, exhibiting the full strength of his 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath'. Around his limbs, the Black Heart Flame also appeared as though it was a coiling snake.

As soon as Cao Yun appeared behind the broken armor, he grabbed his throat with so much strength that he crushed his larynx and almost broke his neck. 'Breaking the Formation'! At the same time, he threw a powerful right elbow directly into his back, precisely where his Shendao the Heart Gate was located. This strike was enough to shatter his spine as his armor was already broken apart and exposing his rotting flesh.

From Cao Yun's elbow, the Black Heart Flame penetrated the corpse and entered straight into its heart. Those flames devoured some of the Ghost Energy and Death Energy within the rotting corpse but more than half of it remained in his skull where his sea of consciousness used to be when he was alive. Unfortunately, this attack caused no pain at all and the corpse counter-attacked immediately. From his back ghostly chains emerged and tried to skewer Cao Yun. Even with his Wei Qi and the Black Heart Flame, those chains could pierce his flesh and even hurt his soul. So Cao Yun let go of his opponent without any hesitation.

Condensing his spiritual senses around his limbs alongside the Black Heart Flame and his Wei Qi, Cao Yun blocked the chains with his forearms. 'Forging the Fort'! 'Cutting the Retreat'! Cao Yun quickly moved away while dodging the chains. But he didn't stay too far from his prey. Of course, the other Supplicant Tyrants were not waiting idly by. As soon as Cao Yun appeared again, they sent their ghostly figures all around him. The next instant some of those ghosts were replaced by the armors wielding their scythes.

A first scythe came right for Cao Yun's throat. It was as though the blade had appeared out of nowhere. 'Pushing the Sky'! Cao Yun grabbed one of the chains while blocking it with his hand. Then, he threw it toward the scythe. The shock wasn't enough to push back the weapon but it gave Cao Yun enough time to move completely out of the way. Doing so, the second scythe came right for his torso. As he dodged, Cao Yun realized that this attack was in fact hiding another wave of chains from the broken armor. This time, a chain pierced his shoulder before he could block it. His defenses were strong but the chain still went through them. Thankfully it had lost a lot of momentum.

The pain was not as intense as it could have been. And above all else, there was no threat to Cao Yun's soul. The Black Heart Flame had burned almost everything dangerous within the chains. Wasting no time, Cao Yun grabbed on the chain and tugged on it with all his strength. It almost ripped apart the back of the rotting corpse. But as it endured, it made the broken armor fly toward Cao Yun.

'Dyeing the Ground'!

With his hand, Cao Yun sliced through the neck of the rotting corpse he had already weakened with his Black Heart Flame earlier. As his helmet was broken apart and his neck almost shattered already, the rotting corpse's head was cut off from his body in an instant. Still trying to kill his enemy, the corpse tried to skewer Cao Yun with his scythe but he was just too close and Cao Yun grabbed his hand and overpowered him. Then, he turned the scythe toward another scythe coming for him.

From the severed head, a powerful wave of Death Energy erupted, still trying to engulf Cao Yun. But his knowledge of 'Death Verses' was good enough for Cao Yun to simply absorb it all now that its owner wasn't long for this world. And the owner was the condensed Ghost Energy. It tried to endure within the head but it was slowly fading away. Even without Cao Yun's intervention, it would disappear completely very soon. That being said, he didn't want to take any risk. So several lightning swords appeared and stabbed through the head, completely burning it into nothingness.

Using 'Death Reeling' from 'Death Verses', Cao Yun was able to control Death Energy as well as if it were mere Qi. Without an intent controlling this Death Energy, Cao Yun could simply take it for himself and even strengthening his Black Heart Flame. In fact, Cao Yun was hoping to understand 'Soul Chains' as it was almost exactly what those corpses were using. Whoever had made them and the seals on their armors had clearly some knowledge of the Dao of Death. And this worried Cao Yun a little. Only a Sage or Exalted Demon should have the ability to achieve such results. Even with the 'Death Verses' from Cleansed Asura and all his personal notes, Cao Yun had not been able to fully understand 'Soul Chains'. Hopefully it was just some great knowledge the Empyrean Asura Theocracy had found, but it could also be proof of something more than that.

Could they had unlocked some memory or even some consciousness within the blood of Demon God Da Mo? Cao Yun had been able to see parts of the life of the Weaver of Souls. Maybe the Empyrean Asura had achieved something similar with blood from Demon God Da Mo... Cao Yun was sincerely getting worried about this Empyrean Asura. He wasn't just a powerful demon cultivator, there was something else going on.

Anyway, Cao Yun had killed the first Supplicant Tyrant. Suddenly he felt the pressure diminishing around him. In particular, his very soul felt more at ease. With the exhilaration from his breakthrough still within him, this sensation felt even better.

He had no time to savor his small victory though. General Meng Tian struck with his 'Mastodon Bone Smasher' while the Supplicant Tyrants tried to slash off Cao Yun's limbs.

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

As the Supplicant Tyrants were weaker than General Meng Tian, they became Cao Yun's target. In a duel against General Meng Tian, Cao Yun had no doubt he could kill him, so he would eliminate those who could interfere first. With his spear in hand, Cao Yun stabbed toward them. The chariot pulled by nine dragon-like horses rushed toward the two scythes as well as many chains coming toward him.

The first blade was trampled and completely shattered under the hooves of the nine horses. But the second blade moved out of the way. The shaft of the scythe turned into a chain and the blade itself flew around Cao Yun's attack to try and slice him apart. Unable to stop his own momentum, Cao Yun accelerated instead. His chariot went through the two Supplicant Tyrants, breaking apart most of their armors as well. Unfortunately, the second one was also able to avoid most of the force behind the attack. On the other hand, the first one's corpse was completely broken along his armor. His articulations were bent in weird angles and some parts of his rotten flesh had been ripped away.

Using the gained momentum, Cao Yun rotated at the very end of his movement and his spear collided with the blade of the scythe connected by a chain. It was sent backward and then collided with General Meng Tian's 'Mastodon Bone Smasher'. While the two Supplicant Tyrants had a great teamwork, they were not coordinated with General Meng Tian. So Cao Yun had an easier time using them against one another.

He didn't leave them any time to breathe. Immediately, Cao Yun's spear stabbed through the head and then the heart of the first Supplicant Tyrant. In fact, his spear was so fast and agile that Cao Yun stabbed the corpse dozens of times. The rotting flesh exploded everywhere while Cao Yun's Black Heart Flame was consuming each piece of it. Two Supplicant Tyrants were already dead and the third one's armor was a bit broken as well.

General Meng Tian had not imagined he could lose at all. But now he was getting afraid. His first instinct was to flee but he couldn't. The Empyrean Asura Theocracy would chase him down and his death would be worse. In his hand, he took the Blood Gushing Holy Heart pill but even now he was hesitant...