Time had frozen for Cao Yun as he observed the situation. Two male demons who were early Accomplished Demons were fighting to protect the two female demons, who were merely late Golden Blood Children. Their other companion had already been slaughtered. Even Cao Yun couldn't tell the sex or the cultivation of the demon because the corpse was completely charred. It was a wonder it hadn't already turned to ashes. Most likely the demon had been an early to middle Accomplished Demon.
The two Accomplished Demons were heavily injured. Ironically, the flames of the Flameborns were helping them stay alive longer as they cauterized the wounds. As such, the demons weren't losing as much blood as they otherwise would have. A demon had lost half his arm while the other one had a third of his face burned. His left eye was missing. All over their bodies, they had wounds, scars, and burns. Many of the scars were already old. Considering their cultivation, it proved that the battles had been violent. But it also proved that their cultivation was unstable. To be fair, they had lived in small groups, hunted down by Flameborns for the crimes of their ancestors.
Cao Yun remembered the demons he had met. Although there was a painful history between humans and demons, Cao Yun had helped demons many times. Demon God Da Mo and his followers were never worthy of mercy, but Cao Yun had no reason to think those particular demons had done anything wrong except meet those particular Flameborns. Still, he couldn't be sure of it, so he wouldn't simply kill without knowing.
Although he didn't want to see innocent people killed before his eyes, he didn't want to make his life more complicated for no reason. But this was a reason. And yet, he couldn't be sure how the Flameborns behind him would react.
As Cao Yun hesitated, Dian Mo's voice resounded.
"Boy, this isn't your fight. Those demons chose to come here knowing full well the risks. Even if you save them, they might be killed by someone else anyway. They're in no state to stay here. Don't risk yourself. Just pretend you didn't see them. It's cruel, but you're no savior."
"No, I'm not..."
And yet...
The human remembered his time in the Desolate Sepulcher. When he was in the Desolate Dune Desert, he had been forced to bear witness to many atrocities. At that time, he was too weak to act. Now, he was strong enough to act, but he was staying his hand.
What was the purpose of strength if he couldn't exercise it when he saw something he couldn't tolerate?
"You're going to do it anyway, right?"
"I'm afraid I will."
Dian Mo sighed. And yet, Cao Yun could hear a smile in this sigh. Despite his renunciation of Demon God Da Mo, Dian Mo had a deep connection with demons. Honestly, even he didn't like to see this spectacle. Hopefully, Cao Yun wouldn't get into too much trouble.
Cao Yun had made his peace with helping everyone. He couldn't simply change the world. In fact, he would probably have to kill and slaughter more than he would save if he tried to impose his will on an entire world. However, he wouldn't look away from a situation if he could do something about it. After all, even if he couldn't change the entire world, he could entirely change someone's life, someone's world. By saving those four demons, he would save the worlds that were in their minds, the way they saw everything. In a sense, saving a life was saving a world.
As beautiful as it might sound, Cao Yun would also hold some responsibility for the lives he would save. Thus, he had to actually know what was going on.
He turned toward Yanzhen.
"Protect the twins while I inquire about the situation."
Yanzhen wasn't sure he had perfectly understood what Cao Yun intended to do, but he bowed and obeyed.
The next instant, Cao Yun appeared between the two injured demons and the most aggressive Flameborns. The twelve Flameborns had surrounded the demons and were quite literally playing with them. Cao Yun put himself in front of those who seemed the most dangerous among the crowd.
"Friends, might I ask what those four demons have done to you? How have they wronged you so much that they deserve such a terrible fate?"
At first, the Flameborns were just surprised, unable to process what had happened. Then, they realized that the man in front of them was Cao Yun. Most Flameborns stepped back. They didn't want to fall victim to the Sun-Severing Spear. Even if some Flameborns thought that it was useless so far from the Ancient Obsidian tribe, no one was really ready to test this hypothesis.
A woman started to talk.
"They stole from us. So they deserve death."
It was painfully obvious to absolutely everyone that this was a lie. The demons were still shocked and could barely act at all. However, they understood that Cao Yun was their only chance. They had to cling to him. But they didn't know if he could actually save them or not because they feared that his Sun-Severing Spear was indeed useless here. The demons cursed the day they had decided to split from their group. They had come with other demons but had wanted to explore on their own, thinking the surface would be somewhat safer than the caves.
"What did they steal? I might compensate you if it's not too much."
Hearing Cao Yun's words, a sinister smile distorted her face. She didn't even attempt to hide her ridicule as she sized up Cao Yun.
"A spear. Maybe you've seen it. It's an ancient spear, broken apart. Only a piece of the shaft remains. It's almost scrap, but it has great sentimental value to me. If you can give us a similar spear, we might forget about their heinous crime."
The other Flameborns also laughed with her.
"I see. Apparently, you're very reasonable. If you just want a broken spear, I can give it to you."
From his spatial ring, Cao Yun took out the most ordinary spear he had on him. Despite its appearance, it was a 2-star Heaven spear. For those Flameborns, this was an excellent spear. What truly interested Cao Yun was that this spear was among the heaviest weapons he had. It was made of Bin Iron, a metal known to be tough to mold because of its resistance to heat. Without batting an eye, Cao Yun broke it apart with his bare hands as if it had been a mere twig. Then, he threw the broken shaft right in front of the woman who had mocked him.
When the shaft landed in front of her, it was moving so fast and was so heavy that it pierced the rocky floor. More than half the shaft disappeared into the ground while the entire area around it shook. At that moment, even the demons were shocked. Cao Yun had broken such a heavy and durable spear as if it were nothing. In other words, he could break them apart without putting in any effort. With or without the Sun-Severing Spear, they couldn't let Cao Yun put his hands on them, or they would die.
The woman who had mocked Cao Yun felt terrible. She wanted to slap her past self from a few seconds ago. Everyone had understood that she was asking for the Sun-Severing Spear. Now, she looked stupid with a spear stuck in the ground in front of her. Looking around, she could tell that no one wanted to fight Cao Yun now.
"I... Senior, this spear is..."
"What?! Is it not enough? I have many other weapons I can shatter for you if you want scraps so badly."
Cao Yun's eyes became dangerous. Now that he had made her will falter, he was pressing his advantage with Weeping Demon. Only the woman he was talking to could feel his wrath and killing intent.
"It's not that, Senior. I'm very grateful for your gift."
"Then, take it and leave those demons alone. I will handle their punishment. Since I repaid you, consider that their theft was against me and not you. From now on, they won't wrong you anymore. Isn't that fair?"
She really didn't want to lose face in front of anybody. But, then again, she wasn't sure anybody would follow her if she attacked Cao Yun. In fact, she could see her spine shattered just like the spear in front of her.
"I... Senior is too merciful. I cannot accept such a gift. In honor of meeting you, I will save you some face. Those demons aren't important enough for me to lower myself to their level. Senior, do with them as you may. Please, excuse us."
"No."
The woman was bowing when Cao Yun's single word resounded. Her blood froze.
"This is a gift, I won't take it back. Please, friend, take my gift with you. Let no one say that I go back on my word."
Shaking, the woman raised her hands toward the broken shaft. Even without trying, she knew that she lacked the strength to pull the broken spear out of the ground. Cao Yun was simply trying to humiliate her. She swallowed her pride and tried to pull on the shaft of the broken spear. Try as she might, it barely budged at all. Her muscles were bulging, and her skin was turning scarlet. However, the only thing anyone could see was her standing immobile, shaking.
"Oh? Is it stuck? Excuse me, friend."
Cao Yun grabbed the shaft with one hand and pulled slowly. Effortlessly, he took the shaft out of the ground while the woman was still holding it. It was absolutely humiliating. She quickly let go of the spear in shame. However, Cao Yun wasn't done. He handed the shaft to the woman. Her arms were on fire, and she felt pain in every part of her body as she had used all of her strength to no avail. She was panting, and steam was rising all around her as her sweat had vaporized on her skin. On the other hand, Cao Yun was not even sweating at all.
Faced with Cao Yun's broken weapon, the woman grabbed it with both hands, ready to hold a terribly heavy spear. When it was in Cao Yun's hands, it seemed as light as a feather, but she could tell that it was heavier than any weapon she had ever wielded. In fact, she was sincerely worried that she was going to tear something simply by holding it.
Cao Yun let go of the spear suddenly, and the woman was barely able to hold the spear. Besides, this was only half the spear as Cao Yun had broken it apart. She was using all her strength to just prevent the shaft from touching the ground.
"I hope this modest token of my sincerity will be enough to make up for the theft you've suffered. You may go now, I will handle the thieves myself."
With hatred in her eyes, the woman couldn't say anything. Her group was simply terrified of Cao Yun. To be fair, she was scared to the bone as well. Although she was confident in her Dao of Fire against this man, she had seen that he was much faster and stronger than her. In an actual fight, he would break her body before she could even see him move. Pride and face were important, but her life was even more important.
"Thank you, Senior. I will hold this token of your sincerity in high regard. Please be careful in the Weeping Summits. The place is full of snakes. Those you save one day can poison you at night. Despite your good intentions, I wouldn't save a demon if I were you. People might even talk about the Ancient Obsidian tribe."
"Do not worry, friend. If a snake tries to bite me at night, he'll find himself defanged before he can hurl any insult at my tribe. I will keep your words of caution in mind. Do be careful, friend, the surface is not as safe as you might imagine. Poisonous vermin can attack you at any time. I've witnessed such an attack. There is indeed strength in numbers, you shouldn't split up your group."
"I'll take your words to heart, Senior."
The woman bowed slightly, just enough to not be disrespectful. Then, she simply left. With the spear in hand, even walking away was difficult for her. To her credit, she didn't falter and kept the spear in her hands for as long as Cao Yun saw her. Honestly, the spear was really a great treasure for her. But she might not realize it right away. Even broken, the ore of the spear was precious in itself, especially for Flameborns. Bin Iron was resistant to heat, so a Flameborn could wield such a weapon without fearing that he might melt it by going too far with his flames.
For a moment, Cao Yun had hesitated to kill everyone. It would have been easier in the long run as he didn't want to create enemies. However, he had no deep animosity against them and, to be absolutely honest, he wasn't sure he could kill them without anyone slipping through his fingers. If any one of them had escaped and spread this story around, it would have been much worse.
Anyway, Cao Yun looked at the four demons. They were kowtowing in front of him.
"Noble Benefactor, we offer you our thanks. You've saved our miserable lives. We have nothing to offer in return but our allegiance."
"Rise. I don't need your allegiance. Take care of your dead and of your wounded. Leave this place before you waste my efforts by getting killed for no reason."
The two injured men and the two women were bitter. Deep down, they knew that Cao Yun was right, especially in their current condition. They had come for treasures, but they would return maimed. Despite their regenerative abilities, the two men would never fully heal. This was a disaster.
"Take this."
Cao Yun threw them a bottle of pills. They weren't miraculous, but they would help them greatly.
"Cultivation is a difficult path. Focus on your Dao Heart. So long as you don't lose your will, you may find a way. However, do not forget to use your reason in order to avoid such situations. Without me, your cultivation path would have been cut short."
"Thank you, Noble Benefactor."