Chapter 705: In the Wolf's mouth

Cao Yun was completely surrounded by those six large white fangs. They were all as tall as a mountain peak, almost reaching the clouds. All over the fangs, there were many runes and various shapes sculpted into those impressive teeth. As he still had his compass in hand, Cao Yun realized that this entire area was almost completely sealed off. It wasn't really an array formation though. Looking around himself, the young man could tell that this was a battle formation instead.

The Six Fangs Generals had poured, and were still actively pouring, their own strength into those fangs. They were the cornerstone of this formation. The entire area enclosed by those fangs was separate from the rest of the world. In a sense, it was very similar to a Domain. But only a Monarch, a cultivator beyond the realm of Sage, could really summon a Domain. Cao Yun had already seen Sect Leader Xuan use a form of pseudo-Domain while fighting the revived body of Da Mo. Around Cao Yun was also a form of pseudo-Domain.

Within a true Domain, the cultivator who had unleashed it would be like a god. Unless one could also use a Domain, fighting within the boundaries of a Domain was almost impossible. However, this battle formation wasn't meant to suppress Cao Yun or strengthen Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. No, this 'Maw of Absolute Bond' was clearly meant to make sure that no one could either leave or enter the area. It was almost as if they were in their own separate world.

Of course, Cao Yun could have probably tried to break out of it. With his compass, he had already found several weak spots. Within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness, Dian Mo was also analyzing this battle formation.

"Boy, I've found the best place to attack. Simply go through it. Once you're out, fly as fast as you can. There's no way even this so-called Silver Wolf Marshal can catch up with you at Hongyu's speed."

Cao Yun did not answer Dian Mo at all. Instead, Cao Yun was looking directly into Marshal Shanyin Guan's eyes. Currently, Cao Yun was still mostly invisible to the Marshal's eyes. And yet, it felt as though they were looking in each other's eyes.

"Boy, what's wrong with you?! We have to get to the Hongchen Kingdom as soon as possible. Don't engage that man!"

"I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Cao Yun let go of his 'Ashen Feather Seal'. He and Hongyu fully appeared in front of Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. After saying a few words to his Heaven-Searing Fenghuang, Cao Yun floated in the air and she flew away. Hongyu stopped just as she reached the boundary of the 'Maw of Absolute Bond' battle formation. As she was flying, she also saw the other Six Fangs Generals. Each one was flying toward the top of one of those fangs. Obviously, they were much slower than she was. But as Cao Yun and Marshal Shanyin Guan were taking their time, it allowed for all Six Fangs Generals to get there.

From each fang, golden and silver chains emerged and connected them all together in a large circle. On the chains themselves, there were large yellow paper seals with strange characters that appeared to be written in fresh blood. Their battle formation was now complete. Dian Mo was furious as the main weakness he had found was now gone. If Cao Yun tried to escape right now, he would take too long. And in the meantime, the Silver Wolf Marshal would strike him down. In other words, Cao Yun was truly trapped now. Fighting all Six Fangs Generals and the Silver Wolf Marshal was probably too much even for Cao Yun's current cultivation.

The young man could feel Dian Mo's concerns.

"Don't worry. They won't interfere. I'm sorry, but... I do think I have to face this man."

"Boy...! I swear...! You'd better not lose!"

Obviously, Dian Mo was furious. But Cao Yun could tell that this stemmed from his fear of Demon God Da Mo. Even now, Dian Mo was terrified by the idea that he might get to Cao Yun before they reached the Hongchen Kingdom.

Now that he had dealt with Dian Mo's concerns, Cao Yun focused entirely on Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. He circulated his full 9th-grade Accomplished Demon cultivation and manifested the full strength of his Demon Soul. Now that he was directly facing Marshal Shanyin Guan, Cao Yun could tell that he was actually an 8th-grade Accomplished Demon. As such, he didn't have a complete Demon Soul yet. Still, his Demon Soul was very powerful and it was also close to becoming a full-fledged Demon Soul. Most likely, the Marshal needed less than a decade to reach this stage.

"I am Shanyin Guan, Silver Wolf Marshal, Marshal of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, Lord of the Langyin Region. I received orders from the Empyrean Asura to kill you."

As he spoke, the Marshal took out his double-ended spear. From his spatial ring, many other double-ended polearms appeared all around himself. They formed a large cloud all over the place. In response, Cao Yun took out thousands of swords while the 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' appeared in his hand as well.

"I am Cao Yun. I heard a lot about you, Silver Wolf Marshal. I heard what a tremendous warrior you are, what a great leader you are, what an honorable man you are. I would never have thought that you would be a mere dog kept in leash by this insane theocrat. Do you think you can spare your land by obeying his whims?! You do realize that he'll betray you?! Once the Hongchen Kingdom falls, he'll turn his sight back toward the demons. Once all humans enslaved or slaughtered, he'll make sure to subdue every demon on the Piaolu planet. Maybe you'll be able to stave off his appetite at first. Maybe he'll conquer the Desolate Sepulcher first. But eventually, he'll strike down your Langyin Region. You know he can't allow it to remain free."

The Marshal's face was dark. He obviously knew all of that. But he had given his word, and he had had good reasons to do so.

"Young man, you fail to see the big picture. It's unfortunate that we find ourselves at odds. You're clearly a great genius. I never would have guessed that you were a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. But unless you're able to break the curse of the Forsaken Dao Era, there is no opposing the Empyrean Asura. Even if I have to sacrifice myself, I will protect my people as much as I can. I will destroy my own reputation if it means they can live even a day longer. The Empyrean Asura might even consider leaving my Langyin Region alone as long as I obey his every order. This slight chance is better than utter annihilation. Young man, if you could see his true power, you would kowtow and beg for his mercy."

"His true power?! You mean, his true identity! Demon God Da Mo!"

Cao Yun's words reached the Six Fangs Generals. Everyone was shocked. At first, they thought that this young man was insane. But then, they saw the face of their Marshal. He was beyond shock. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was utterly speechless.

"I see... You did devour the memories of this Yu Xiangling, I guess. Then, you should know. We cannot oppose his will! Think what you want of me. Had I been alone, I would have faced him and died in combat. But I don't have this luxury. I have to protect my people as best as I can. There is no hope against such an enemy. It is better to serve him since he'll do as he wishes anyway..."

"How the mighty have fallen, Marshal! I had heard such great things about you. But do not mistake my words, I do understand your plight. I just think that you made a terrible mistake, you let despair take root and you made a terrible deal. If he had come back with his full strength, Da Mo would have already conquered the entire Piaolu planet. The mere fact that it took him so long to unify the demon territory proves that he's not as powerful as he used to be. My guess is that his soul is probably damaged from his fight against Emperor Nuwa. And the Empyrean Asura's body is limiting him. If you had been able to unite the demons against him, you could have won. The Desolate Sepulcher might have even helped you, and so could have the humans for that matter. You could have tried to unite the entire planet against him and he would have been defeated for sure."

"Young man, it's useless. Good or bad, I made my choice. I swore to protect my people, no matter what. And in order to do so, I swore my allegiance to the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. I won't ever go back on my word!"

"And if your oaths contradict each other, which one will you choose?"

"I tire of this discussion. Are you buying time or are you ready to fight?"

"Marshal, I've just recently broken through as it turns out. I can't wait to put my new strength to the test!"

"Fine, I'm ready as well!"

Both men bowed. Cao Yun knew everything about the customs of the demons in this land. So he gave the proper salutation. Watching the duel begin, the Six Fangs Generals were in turmoil. They had just learned something unimaginable. The Empyrean Asura was somehow Demon God Da Mo himself. If Cao Yun had just told them, they would never have believed it. But their own Marshal was aware of that. Thus, they all finally understood why he had submitted to him. They all got a new look on his situation. But Cao Yun's words were too overbearing.

Even if they united the entire Piaolu planet, which was easier said than done, could they actually destroy such a demon? It had taken Emperor Nuwa several centuries to beat him and she had been a Monarch at that time. Of course, a demon's cultivation was mostly in their blood, so having a weaker body would greatly diminish Demon God Da Mo's strength. But still, they couldn't imagine winning a fight against him. After all, Demon God Da Mo was the progenitor of all demons on the Piaolu planet. He had created the demons by mixing his blood with the humans. The Weaver of Souls and a handful of asura had been accompanying Demon God Da Mo of course. But Demon God Da Mo had been the main force behind this mixture of blood.

Most of the asura Demon God Da Mo had brought with him had died over the years. Only the Weaver of Souls remained by his sides until the end. But the Weaver of Souls was much more focused on the soul while Demon God Da Mo never abandoned working on merging human and asura blood. Cao Yun was almost certain that Demon God Da Mo had been trying to recreate the legendary Three Jade Saints. In fact, the Weaver of Souls' work also seemed to go that road. By merging first asura and human cultivation systems, they could later try to integrate the deva soul as well. Ironically, Cao Yun was what Demon God Da Mo had been trying to create, in a sense.

The two cultivators were flying in the skies. All around them, their Demon Soul expanded. Finally, they touched. Right in the middle of the battle formation, both of their spiritual senses clashed. It was invisible but both of them could feel a great pressure on their very soul as the killing intent of their opponent was pushing against them.

In the sky above them both, seven stars appeared as it turned darker and darker. Among those stars, four constellations were fully visible while the fifth one was still a bit hazy, the Heart Constellation. Just by looking at those constellations, one could somehow see the image of a large dragon moving across the dark skies.

As he was circulating his martial arts, Cao Yun also mobilized his Spear Heart. The spear in his hand appeared absolutely tyrannical as though it could crush the earth and pierce the heavens. All around Cao Yun, the flying swords formed various circles rotating behind him. His Insight Writings were sometimes visible within those swords.

The Silver Wolf Marshal wasn't watching idle by. He circulated his own martial arts, 'Virtues of the Bound General'. All over his body, silver chains appeared that disappeared into thin air as though the universe itself was chaining him down. But those chains were not heavy on him. Strangely enough, there was a sense of freedom within those chains. He didn't stop there as Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan also pushed his understanding of the spear to its limit.

Before Cao Yun, the Silver Wolf Marshal also manifested his Spear Heart. He too had reached that level. In fact, Cao Yun even wondered whether his own Spear Heart was weaker or not. It was still unclear, but the Silver Wolf Marshal's Spear Heart was indeed incredible. The double-ended spear in his hand seemed to be a physical manifestation of duty and virtue. There was no word to explain it. It was a deep sensation as if Cao Yun was quite literally the very concepts of duty and virtue.

Cao Yun's spear could break apart all creation while Marshal Shanyin Guan's double-ended spear was holding it together through great principles and moral virtue. The two were meant to clash. But no one could tell who would come out victorious of such a fight.

Cao Yun was the first one to attack.

'Weeping Demon' - 'Weeping Asura'!

Within Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's sea of consciousness, the large figure of Axiu Qian appeared. Now that Cao Yun had turned it into his literal Demon Soul, it was much more powerful. Besides, he had mastered 'Weeping Demon' so much that he could unleash his soul attack on anyone he could lay eyes on. Even if one couldn't see Cao Yun, he could still assault their souls.

Within his sea of consciousness, the Marshal's Demon Soul manifested itself in the form of a large silver wolf and immediately pounced toward the giant red asura. At the same time, in the physical realm, the Marshal unleashed his first spear.

'One Root to Hold the World'!