Chapter 693: From within and without

With his 'Ancient Veins in the Void' compass in his hands, Cao Yun was observing as the many parts of his array formations were moving. One 5-star Heaven array formation was already hard to monitor but four of them acting in unison with a few dozen lesser array formations was much harder. Besides, he had set them up along the array formations of the Holy Hongxue City. Thanks to that, he had been able to reduce how much time was needed to set them up while concealing them to such a high degree that even Lu Xiaoya had failed to notice them. To her, those array formations had appeared to be part of the defense formations of the city. Even now that she was focusing on them, she had a hard time understanding how they were working. To be fair, she was trapped inside them, not the best place to analyze them.

In fact, Cao Yun's own compass was completely chaotic. Indeed, the various array formations were messing with it. The 'Waning Heavenly Dragon Diagram' was hiding the true stars and was creating fake stars that could trick even Cao Yun's compass. The killing intent from the 'Bloody Soul Battlefield Disaster' array formation was making following the flow of Wandering Qi much more difficult. And many small array formations were also suddenly altering the flow of Qi while the tongues of fire from the 'Fiery Torment of the Hellish Tree' array formation were creating random surges of energy all over the place.

Since Cao Yun had set up those array formations himself, he was able to determine what was actually useful and what was just noise. Unfortunately, although his mind could understand it all, his soul was so weak he had a hard time focusing. Thankfully though, Dian Mo was also able to understand everything. Thus Cao Yun had nothing to do. Dian Mo was simply using Cao Yun's own senses, namely his eyes, to monitor the 'Ancient Veins in the Void' compass.

Cao Yun was extremely stressed. He knew that they had to get out of there as soon as possible. But he fully trusted Dian Mo. If they got out through an opening in the array formations, their pursuers would be able to get out as well. In his condition, without the help of the array formations, it would become too difficult and dangerous for him to escape. And he couldn't fight either without forfeiting his life...

Although he was impatient and stressed, Cao Yun didn't press Dian Mo. He stayed silent and alert to his surroundings.

While Cao Yun was getting ready to exit, the Temple of Grace and Submission was sending more and more ghostly demons toward Mo Qingsong. His thin, long sword was slashing toward the entrance like crazy. It was flicking in and out of existence as though it was a beam of light. Mo Qingsong's movements were so fast and swift that no one could actually see his arms move. A mere mortal would have thought that this man was wishing beams of light into existence. As a retaliation, the 'Embrace of the Loving God' was raining all kinds of atrocities upon him. But everything was intercepted by the large black back of Zhai Tiesheng.

At the moment, his armor had been completely broken apart. His skin had been exposed and then destroyed. Some of his muscles, also turned black, were literally visible to the naked eye. They looked like tight ropes of iron. Under the relentless attacks, some of his muscles were even cut. His muscle fibers were being ripped apart one by one but he was enduring. In his mind he was also suffering a lot. Thankfully, Cao Yun had focused the killing intent of the 'Bloody Soul Battlefield Disaster' around his pursuers so it had lessened what Zhai Tiesheng was sustaining. But the Death Energy unleashed by the 'Embrace of the Loving God' was insane.

Zhai Tiesheng had quite literally gone through all the tortures this temple, especially Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng and Yu Xiangling, had visited upon their poor victims. His eyes were filled with blood and his body was covered with the heavy blood from his back. At some point, even some of his bones became visible. A few vertebrae were apparent. Many runes had been engraved in those bones, to improve their strength, speed up Zhai Tiesheng's cultivation, and also protect his soul through seals.

Looking at the scene, Lu Xiaoya was more than upset. But she had a mission to perform. She had to analyze Cao Yun's array formations. That being said, she had a hard time getting her mind away from the situation. Although Zhai Tiesheng wasn't screaming or even showing any sign of pain on his face, she clearly knew that his agony was incredible. She really wanted to alleviate his pain. However, she had to focus on the task at hand. Besides, she knew that Zhai Tiesheng wouldn't appreciate that. He was the one who always protected everyone, her in particular, and his pride wouldn't accept to be protected in return. She did find it ridiculous, but she had to respect his wishes. He was the shield!

'Kshitigarbha's Unyielding Vow'!

Lu Xiaoya felt Zhai Tiesheng's ultimate technique, the pinnacle of 'Iron-Crushing Vajra Body Scripture'. Such a technique made his body almost impenetrable, but it was extremely taxing on his soul and blood. She didn't know how long he could sustain it.

The bones in his entire body turned golden. From them, a powerful light emitted in all directions. Although it was impossible to see directly, one could perceive some golden light here and there, especially coming from his exposed back. His very armor turned to volcanic stone and seemed to quite literally merge with his flesh. Around him, runes and strange characters written in gold appeared. If Cao Yun had been there, he would have been able to read this Antique Sixian. Those symbols meant 'Until All Hells Die, Unmovable'. All around Zhai Tiesheng, time seemed to stop. The ghostly demons sent by the Temple of Grace and Submission spiraled toward Zhai Tiesheng but never seemed to reach him as though they were either standing still or that time and space themselves were keeping them away.

Under Zhai Tiesheng's protection, Mo Qingsong got more and more violent. Although he was focused on freeing his Marshal, he wasn't indifferent to his comrades' plight. Since he had started, he knew that he was disobeying He Wushuang's orders but he was ready to suffer for it. On the other hand, he wasn't ready to let his comrades suffer or die for him. In fact, Mo Qingsong was prepared to push Zhai Tiesheng out of the way and to die in his stead if it ever became necessary. Just like Lu Xiaoya, he knew that the demon shield over him couldn't sustain this technique for long. The mere fact that he used this technique proved how dire the situation was. This 'Embrace of the Loving God' was indeed terrifying.

Fortunately for them, Cao Yun had destroyed the reserves of Death Energy it could use from within the Temple of Grace and Submission. Otherwise, they would have absolutely no chance whatsoever. In fact, they might have already been killed. But the array formation seemed to save its own strength. It couldn't go all out like before. Besides, Yu Xiangling wasn't there to perfectly control it and neither was Cao Yun who had her knowledge.

From within, the Silver Wolf Marshal also felt the change in Mo Qingsong's rhythm. Immediately he understood what it meant. He knew his Six Fang Generals. Thus, he also knew that Zhai Tiesheng and Mo Qingsong's lives were in danger. Then, he had to also put his life on the line. He was an 8th-grade Accomplished Demon and he couldn't let his subordinates die for him without risking his life. In his sea of consciousness, the Silver Wolf Marshal summoned all his Turbid Demons. Five large gates were crushing the Turbid Demons while three large chains were emerging from the skies. Those chains were keeping all seven Turbid Demons captive. Two of those five gates were crushing two Turbid Demons at the same time. On each gate, there were large characters as well as many small seals and runes. Each gate also seemed to have the face of a terrifying demon on one side and a virtuous sage on the other side.

'Three Dual Bonds'!

With each strike of his double-ended spear, golden chains emerged and struck the entrance dozens of times if not more. It was also impossible to count them. All of Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's Demon Soul was also pushing against the entrance. In his very soul he could feel the Death Energy trying to consume him. In his mind, he also saw the images of Holy Cardinal Ling Weisheng and Yu Xiangling torturing poor victims. There were mortal men, women, children, elderly... With each passing second, more and more torments were visited upon Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. But those two women were not the only tormentors. He even saw the faces of the priests around him. Right behind him was the old priest who had let him enter.

For quite some time, the old man had asked Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan to stay his head lest he would damage the temple. That had already infuriated the Marshal, but now he could see his face distorted by perversion as he was torturing poor women while reciting his Holy Scripture. All his perversions had been allowed under the guise of punishing the wicked. Knowing that he had vowed to fight for the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan got sick.

In order to spare his Langyin Region from war, he had submitted to the Empyrean Asura. Although he had demanded some conditions, the Marshal had vowed to always defend the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, no matter what. And Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan never went back on his word. He had given it and that was it. Even under those circumstances where he wished to annihilate those disgusting priests, he had to endure. But he channeled this rage and frustration into his attacks.

Anger strengthened his Flying Poison;

Shame for defending those priests fueled his Unclean Evil;

Corruption he felt because of his vow empowered his Stinking Lungs;

Fear for his comrades drove his Corpse Dog to frenzy;

Frustration and sensation of powerlessness despaired his Fallen Arrow;

Anguish at the idea of Zhai Tiesheng's suffering lifted his Yin Bird;

Looming threat of death fed his Devouring Robber.

With all his Six Turbid Demons reaching the peak of their strength, his Demon Soul reached the height of its power. The priests behind him ran away from him as they could feel his powerful emotions.

From the outside, Mo Qingsong finally felt the full rage and power of his Marshal. He could feel that his efforts were bearing fruit. With his comrade suffering right above him, Mo Qingsong poured all of his strength into his attacks. Even without talking or seeing each other, and barely even sensing each other, Mo Qingsong and Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's attacks were perfectly synchronized. As such, the 'Embrace of the Loving God' array formation was shaking with every strike. In fact, the entire Temple of Grace and Submission was shaking with it.

Suddenly, a large chunk of the temple exploded into dust.

All around the Holy Hongxue City, a silver light shined. For a split second, it extinguished the darkness. Everyone was shocked, including Cao Yun and his three pursuers. Only Dian Mo stayed focused on the 'Ancient Veins in the Void' compass.

"Now!"

Without thinking, Cao Yun obeyed Dian Mo's voice. He jumped with all his strength directly into the veil of darkness of the 'Waning Heavenly Dragon Diagram' array formation. As he went through it, all his physical senses seemed to disappear. He was in pure darkness, unable to sense anything both without and within. Even his Qi, his blood, his flesh, he couldn't sense anything at all. Although it lasted for just an instant, the sensation stayed with him, or rather the absence of sensation. It would take him several minutes to recover completely, especially with his exhausted soul.

The worst and most dangerous part came after he crossed the veil of darkness. This absence of sensation was replaced by a powerful killing intent, ready to tear his soul into pieces. Thankfully, Dian Mo had found the right spot. This intense killing intent washed over Cao Yun but dispelled very soon.

Seeing their prey escape, Jin Bao tried to jump in as well. She got through the veil of darkness but as she was reaching out to grab Cao Yun, the killing intent assaulted her. Unlike Cao Yun, she had not gone through a weak part of it. Indeed, this killing intent was all around the Holy Hongxue City and was moving all over the place. When she reached for Cao Yun, she felt Axiu Qian's pure killing intent. All her blood and Qi froze into her body. Even her soul seemed to become inert for an instant. Not only did she stop breathing, her entire body shut down. Instinctively, her incomplete Demon Soul protected Jin Bao. But even it got injured.

From within, Xun Lieren could tell that something was amiss. His chains flew into the veil of darkness and grabbed Jin Bao, pulling her back in. The woman was shaking as though she was freezing but she was not responding to anything at all.

"Bring her to Lu Xiaoya right now!"

He Wushuang did not hesitate. Apparently their Marshal had freed himself so they had no reason to rush. If Jin Bao had almost died going through this array formation, he wouldn't risk the lives of anyone else. They needed Lu Xiaoya's expertise. And now they could fully focus on the array formations keeping them trapped in the city.

Outside of the array formations, Cao Yun crashed into a nearby tree. He went through a few of them before they stopped his momentum. He had jumped with too much strength, but he had wanted to be certain of himself. Finally, he was out. But his enemies would not relent.