Chapter 707: Five virtues to suppress a demon

Since Lu Xiaoya was the most perceptive among the Six Fangs, she could see almost every detail of this fight. Thus, she was amazed beyond belief. Not only was this young man able to contend with the Silver Wolf Marshal, his soul was more advanced. Until now, apart from a very few humans and the Empyrean Asura himself, she didn't think anyone could go toe-to-toe with her Marshal. It was quite obvious that this young man had just recently broken through to the 9th-grade Accomplished Demon stage. In other words, he wasn't that much more powerful than the Silver Wolf Marshal. That being said, his soul was above his.

Thankfully, Marshal Shanyin Guan was faster and his mastery of the spear was higher. However, Cao Yun also appeared to be stronger and with more vitality.

At the moment, Shanyin Guan had been injured at the shoulder and parts of his armor had been shattered. On the other hand, many of Cao Yun's ribs had been broken, as well as a few small bones here and there. Despite his clothing, Lu Xiaoya could tell that his chest was bruised just from looking at the strikes against his flesh. However, she could also tell by his demeanor that those injuries were almost nothing. He had probably stopped any internal bleeding before it became a problem. It wasn't just thanks to his cultivation, his Golden Blood was richer and purer.

Killing a late Accomplished Demon was already difficult since they could heal many injuries. Of course, it would take more or less time depending on the severity of the injury and the cultivation of the demon. Nonetheless, unless one inflicted a lethal injury, it was very hard to kill a late Accomplished Demon. Destroying a late Accomplished Demon's heart was a good idea, so was cutting off their head of course. Those were injuries that could not be healed, at least not by Accomplished Demons. Another way was to make them bleed to death since blood was the source of their Qi. But Golden Blood was extremely dense, so Accomplished Demons had much more blood in them than any mortal.

As she was looking at the fight, Lu Xiaoya also saw that their strikes had become different. She didn't see two men trying to kill each other, she was watching two martial artists sparring. As the fight progressed, she realized that she was almost watching a dance between the two of them. Their techniques were getting better and better. There was no doubt, they were sharpening their edge using their opponent.

Lu Xiaoya could tell that Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin was getting closer and closer to finally manifesting his Spear Spirit. On the other hand, Cao Yun's Spear Heart was also getting sharper and sharper. The young man's movements were being refined. Since the beginning, his movements were already nearly perfect, but he still had minor superfluous movements here and there. Only a very perceptive cultivator could see it though. Now, he had fewer and fewer of these. However, he wasn't as close to the Spear Spirit as Marshal Shanyin was.

In the sky though, a fifth constellation was slowly manifesting. Cao Yun was understanding his Heart Constellation. For quite some time now, he had been using 'Dragon's Heart'. With his much denser and heavier Golden Blood, pushing this technique to eightfold was incredibly difficult. Its main point was to make one's blood flow faster and faster. As Cao Yun's blood had evolved, the technique had become more effective at slower speeds. But now, Cao Yun was about to reach the eightfold mark once again.

The young man's skin was becoming redder and redder but he still looked human, for now.

All around the two men, thousands of swords and polearms were fighting in the sky. As their spiritual senses, their literal souls, were clashing, those weapons were trying to push against their counterparts. All of the battlefield had turned into a giant war. Some swords and polearms exploded here and there as pieces of metal fell to the ground. When they reached it, they caused large craters to appear everywhere. The entire topography of the place had changed. All the trees were now destroyed, ravines had been formed. Small pools of blood had also appeared. Indeed, each drop of blood lost by Marshal Shanyin created a small pool when it collapsed.

In the center of it all, Cao Yun and Marshal Shanyin Guan were still pushing their mastery of the spear to the limit.

Shanyin Guan was so fast that it looked like he had two spears in hand. As soon as one end of his spear struck Cao Yun, the other one attacked him from a different angle. The young man wasn't fast enough to parry or even dodge them all, so he was focusing on protecting his vital areas. Each collision was creating shock waves that spread throughout the battlefield, like sonic booms.

As they were fighting, Cao Yun tried to use his Sword Aura to improve his control over his many swords. Suddenly, a few began to fly toward Shanyin Guan. Since Cao Yun's soul was stronger, it was also more difficult for Shanyin Guan to control his polearms. However, Shanyin was able to block most of those swords while fighting Cao Yun. He even dodged a few swords just before they could hit him. With his incredible strength, he shattered several swords into fine powder. Thankfully, it did decrease the pressure on Cao Yun. But it also gave Shanyin Guan more opportunities to sharpen his Spear Heart.

The two men were enjoying this fight much more than they had imagined in the beginning.

Lu Xiaoya perceived something in the movement of the polearms throughout the battlefield. It was so subtle and minute that even her Marshal might have not realized it. Indeed, the polearms were starting to move with more independence. They were not just inanimate objects controlled by his spiritual senses. For Lu Xiaoya, it was obvious. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin had made a first step into the Spear Spirit martial state. As of now, he wasn't fully there. But simply stepping into this martial state was already extraordinary.

Spear Spirit meant that someone had formed a spiritual weapon. Unlike classical weapons, a spiritual weapon could evolve and improve. It could even form a true spirit with enough time and efforts. Such a weapon could not be stolen or destroyed as it was part of one's soul. However, some experts were able to either gift their spiritual weapon or even forge new spiritual weapons outside of themselves. In the current Forsaken Dao Era, it was unfortunately unheard of. For example, Sun Liao had found such a spiritual weapon within the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. It had probably been crafted by an ancient expert, or it was the remains of said expert.

The pressure over Cao Yun began stronger and stronger so the young man unleashed more and more of his soul. He was also pushing his blood higher and higher. A large part of his Devouring Robber had been turned into Death Energy. As it was assaulting Shanyin Guan's soul, the Marshal could feel that his life was pointless. He was just a slave following a path laid out in front of him. There was no freedom, no purpose, just suffering and doubt. He should just accept the sweet release of death and let his opponent consume him, body and soul. However, Shanyin Guan's will was strong, very strong. By sheer will, he was pushing against those feelings.

In the sea of souls of Cao Yun and Shanyin Guan, the same scenes were occurring. Axiu Qian and Cao Yun's seven Turbid Demons were attacking the eight bamboo slips floating in the infinite sky. The ocean and the sky were both made of blood at that point. Despite all the strength of Axiu Qian, he could not destroy the bamboo slip in his hand. The wood was creaking but only small cracks appeared on its surface. Other Turbid Demons had also soiled the bamboo slip they had targeted, but everything was flowing on them without corrupting them. Still, Cao Yun didn't relent his efforts or his ferocity.

Sensing that he was being pressured, the young man used many swords to assault Shanyin Guan and put some distance between them. Unfortunately, Shanyin Guan was faster. He flew through the swords and got to Cao Yun. Suddenly, the young man changed his course and flew straight toward the Marshal. It had been a faint to lure Shanyin Guan in.

'Dragon Swimming Against the Storm'!

A powerful wind rose as Cao Yun's spear turned into a bolt of black lightning. The young man disappeared. Only Lu Xiaoya was able to follow his movements with her eyes. The other Six Fangs and even the Silver Wolf Marshal were forced to use their spiritual senses to keep track of Cao Yun.

Cao Yun's 'Azure Dragon Through the Seven Storms' was combining his familial 'Three Storms' and 'Azure Dragon's Seven Piercing Stars'. As such, all the swords flying in the sky were affected by this sudden attack. Many of them coiled around Cao Yun and literally exploded under the air pressure, creating many small fragments. Electricity and the Black Heart Flame were also coursing through those small fragments that became deadly.

This martial art was using the concepts of Wind and Thunder. Both concepts originated from the Wood element. Thus, they were working very well with one another. But Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan's 'Virtues of the Bound General' was using the concepts of Thunder and Heaven. Unlike Thunder, Heaven originated from the Metal element. The concept of Thunder was obviously heightened by the Metal element, but Metal was also opposite to the Wood element. As such, his martial art had a small edge over Cao Yun's. If the difference between the two men had been bigger, it wouldn't have been important. But in the current situation, it was helping Marshal Shanyin.

'Five Gates of Virtue'!

In the sky, five large temple gates appeared. No one could see their basis or their foundation, they almost looked like rainbows. In other words, no matter how close one would get, they would always appear to float in the distant sky. Each of those gates was closed with thick wooden doors. And on those doors were five different characters, each one written in Antique Sixian. They were Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom and Trustworthiness.

Suddenly, Benevolence opened. From the gate, thousands upon thousands of polearm weapons emerged. They all flew toward Cao Yun. As they flew, they turned into a river of lightning. Many weapons branched off, creating a complex flow toward the young man.

Cao Yun didn't slow down. His 'Dragon Swimming Against the Storm' pierced through a powerful flow of those polearms. The young man was fighting the current while many weapons were coming from other directions as well. However, he didn't stop his attack. Instead, the Black Heart Flame spread around himself.

'Wrathful Asura's Chest'!

Merging his 'Azure Dragon Through the Seven Storms' and his 'Axiu Qian's Blood Wrath', Cao Yun produced a completely new technique based on 'Dragon's Chest'. His Black Heart Flame formed dragon scales all around him. His Devouring Robber produced more and more Death Energy. The polearms that collided with those scales were completely consumed by the black flames. But Cao Yun could feel them affecting his soul as well. Each strike was trying to soothe his soul in order to quiet down his killing intent. Cao Yun circulated his 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' and focused on his anger and rage to push past it. His soul was superior to Marshal Shanyin's after all.

Finally, Cao Yun pierced through the powerful current. Thus, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin opened the other gates. He didn't try to be subtle. All five gates were opened. From Propriety, large silver chains appeared and spread all around Cao Yun. Space seemed to be altered somewhat as Cao Yun's speed decreased. From Wisdom, pure silver light emerged. This light turned into Cao Yun's own weapons, his swords and even his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar'. From Trustworthiness, golden runes spread throughout the battlefield. Hymns and mantras could be heard all over the place and they were affecting Cao Yun's spiritual senses, suppressing them in order to help Marshal Shanyin who was at a disadvantage. Finally, the Righteousness gate opened and thin javelins flew out. They were faster than lightning and directly went to pierce Cao Yun's flesh.

This sudden shift in the battle caused Cao Yun to falter. He was suppressed on many levels simultaneously. Then, the Righteousness javelins stabbed him. They pierced his back, his flank, his limbs. Thanks to his 'Wrathful Asura's Chest', Cao Yun had been able to protect his major organs and vital areas. But those javelins were now embedded into his flesh, some had even pierced his bones.

Obviously, the pain was intense. But more than that, he could hear admonishments from the Heavens themselves, urging him to repent. Slowly, his spiritual senses were being pushed back. Cao Yun was focusing on his rage, in fact, he was focusing on Axiu Qian's rage. As he circulated all of his asura cultivation, Cao Yun's skin turned as red as blood. His eyes became completely black and even his hair began to turn white. Slowly, Cao Yun was taking on the form of Axiu Qian himself.

He could see the image of Axiu Qian stabbed through by many golden chains while a powerful cultivator was judging him for his crimes. Who had the right to judge him?!

Axiu Qian's indignation melded into Cao Yun's rage.

Suddenly, a powerful explosion occurred in the skies. A large red star had appeared. Throughout the world, this red star was turning everything the color of blood. And it was pulsating as though this star was a beating heart. All the Six Fangs could feel their blood pumping in their veins. So could Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin.

Heart Constellation!