For long hours that turned into days, Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue stayed within the chamber. They embraced each other, talked, exchanged ideas, and cuddled now and then. Even though they did fool around a little bit, they never went through an actual dual cultivation session. Such a practice was extremely strenuous. Even if they tried again right away, they would not reap any benefit. In fact, they most likely would harm themselves. Their first attempt at 'Twin Flesh Furnaces, Soul Cauldron' had already been so great with so many benefits. It would take them years to fully explore them.
From time to time, they would both meditate alone in order to observe their own cultivation and stabilize it. Both Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue could feel that it wasn't perfectly stable. If he didn't strengthen his foundation, Cao Yun might let his soul slip out of his Soul Embryo. If only a small part of his soul escaped from his control, it would take him a very long time to pull it back in without damaging it. Damage to a soul was the worst possible thing to a cultivator, second only to damage to their Soul Embryo.
As he was meditating, Cao Yun sensed several changes in himself. First of all, his Solar-Orchid Flame seemed much more docile. It had completely merged with his Rune of Fire within his Drop of Wrath. Although Cao Yun couldn't understand the Dao of Fire, he could use the Solar-Orchid Flame with as much expertise as Yan Huoling did. Besides, it was still attracted to Feng Yingyue for reasons unknown. Her body had strange Fire properties, most likely from her bloodline. Maybe it was her training or some pill she had taken, but it didn't seem so from their discussions. Even she was a bit surprised by it as it had never shown itself during all her alchemy sessions. In itself, it was strange as alchemists dealt with fire all the time. Only a specific part of the Dao of Fire had interacted with her, as if the two shared the same origin. But Feng Yingyue had already been confronted with the Dao of Fire in the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute.
Anyway, neither could answer this question and it wasn't a problem at all. Within mankind's blood, there were many bloodlines from the past or even the demons. Indeed, Ren Chao also had a rare bloodline. So it wasn't common, but not completely out of the ordinary. Moreover, a bloodline could appear in certain individuals even when it had not manifested itself in their parents. When essences mixed during conception, no one could guess which parts would become dominant.
Cao Yun obviously focused most of his meditation on his Soul Embryo. Thankfully, there was no damage. He simply needed to be careful for a few weeks or months. Unfortunately, his plans were already in motion, but he probably had enough time to stabilize his cultivation.
When both of them were satisfied with their session, they finally opened the array formation. Just as they were about to exit, they sensed a guard. He had waited for them to open the array formation but they could tell that it was urgent. He cupped his fists and bowed before them.
"Young Master, Young Mistress, Director Hua Fenfei wants to see you as soon as you come out. She has important news for you."
"I understand. How long were we cultivating?"
The guard was a charming young woman. She blushed a little as she obviously knew what 'cultivating' meant.
"It has been almost two months, Young Mistress."
Honestly, both of them were surprised. Apparently, they had completely lost all sense of time in there. Immediately, gears began to turn in Cao Yun's mind. If two months had passed, then many things had to be ready. Honestly, he had thought that three, maybe four, weeks had passed. Thankfully, it wasn't too awful as it shouldn't alter his schedule. Besides, he had gained much more than he ever thought possible.
"Yes, you had a really great time, apparently..."
The young man could hear Dian Mo's voice in his mind. During the entire process, Dian Mo had stayed blind and deaf so as to keep Feng Yingyue's privacy intact. However, he had spent his time reading books. To be fair, he was a bit bored. Thankfully, Cao Yun had a lot of books in his mind. Still, it had not felt great at all. It had been as if he had been sent back in his array formation.
Cao Yun could sense the tone in Dian Mo's voice. He would have to find some way to apologize to him. But, for the time being, he had other things to think about. Namely, he had to visit Director Hua Fenfei.
-
While Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue had been in cultivation, Director Hua Fenfei and Xiao Xuefeng had been incredibly busy and so had the entire Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. Indeed, there were many things to prepare for Cao Yun's plans. Moreover, Director Hua Fenfei wouldn't just rely on the young man's plans. Although they made a lot of sense, she was gambling with the fate of her entire Institute. As such, she implemented other plans and failsafes as well. Hopefully, they would be superfluous, but it was better to have them, just in case.
A few days after they had begun to dual cultivate, Director Hua Fenfei had contacted the Imperial City with very expensive array formations. Since this was war, several places had been equipped with array formations for communication. Obviously, the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute had direct access to the Imperial City as they were the main provider of pills, both for healing, fighting, cultivation, and many other kinds.
Director Hua Fenfei wasn't among the most powerful cultivators, but she was definitely among the most revered along with her sister Spirit Master Xiao Xuefeng. As such, she could contact Emperor Weide in person almost on a whim. However, he wasn't the one who answered her. She talked with a man Cao Yun would have recognized immediately.
"Esteemed Director, please forgive this humble one, our Emperor is currently exceptionally busy. Please forgive this humble one, but I cannot reveal anything about the matter. We sincerely hope that Director Hua won't take it as an affront."
"No offense taken. To whom am I speaking?"
"Esteemed Director, this inept one is named Jian Zhenli."
Upon hearing his name, Director Hua immediately knew who he was. Jian Zhenli was the former leader of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. He was the one who had slaughtered the Cao family. He was the one who had taken Cao Huiying. He was the one who had slain Cao Yun. Obviously, she kept her calm. Although she despised the man, she had no personal feelings against him, unlike Cao Yun, who did.
"I hope that there isn't any issue..."
"No issue at all, General Jian."
"Oh? Director Hua knows this lowly one?!"
"Indeed, I've heard of your deeds. So I can trust you enough to tell you instead of Emperor Weide. We do not have any issue. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We have a great opportunity. The truth is that my main disciple, my most talented and hard-working disciple, Feng Yingyue, is about to break through to the Spirit Warrior realm. With her help, my sister and I believe that we actually have a serious chance of refining a pill we've been waiting on for quite some time. Unfortunately, this pill is so difficult to refine that none of our array formations are up to the task. Until now, we had no reason to try it out. But Spirit Master Xiao has been working on the recipe. We have a high level of confidence."
As she spoke, Director Hua thought back to her other disciple, Song Guixiang. Despite all of his talent, his behavior was an ever-lasting source of disappointment and shame to Hua Fenfei. Deep down, she liked him, but like she would like an unruly kid. Thankfully, he had a good nature and knew how to be proper. Otherwise, he would have been a real threat to society and she probably would have had to discipline him in a more permanent manner a long time ago.
"Oh?! Then, it is indeed great news. If that pill can impress Director Hua, it must certainly be incredible. I might be presumptuous, but I can imagine the reason why Director Hua contacted our Emperor."
"You probably guessed right. We need the array formation master Sun Liao's expertise."
"Director Hua, if I may be so blunt, this is a tall ask. Master Sun Liao is absolutely essential to our war against the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. His very location at any moment is a secret that only a handful of people share. I'm not saying that it is impossible, but... our Emperor would need more information before allowing such a thing."
"Of course. I fully understand your concerns. But I am also quite confident that Emperor Weide will accept my request. After all, the pill I'm talking about borders on the God level. It is a 5-star Spirit pill, the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill."
"Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill?! Although my understanding is meager, this name seems to mean..."
"Yes, you understand correctly. This pill can actually help someone break through the last calamity of the ninth grade of the Spirit Warrior realm, the Greater Tribulation. We do believe that it might help all of our 9th-grade Spirit Warriors to break free of the shackles of the Forsaken Dao Era. Obviously, we want Emperor Weide to have the best pill, but we are confident that our batch can be a success for at least two, maybe three pills. In which case, our Hongchen Kingdom will have to decide on Sect Leader Xuan and Matriarch Huang. It is not my place to make any suggestion at the moment. Honestly, although we are confident, we cannot promise anything. We might fail."
"I absolutely understand, Director Hua. What you just told me comes as quite a shock. Excuse me, please."
Director Hua was happy with that reaction. Despite how hard he was trying to control himself, Hua Fenfei could sense his voice breaking up. Of course, a pill alone couldn't break through the Greater Tribulation. But, since Emperor Weide was about to devour Cao Huiying's Soul Embryo to try and do just that, the prospect of having a pill that could increase his chances of success would obviously entice him.
-
Jian Zhenli immediately went to the Emperor. Although Emperor Weide had ordered never to be disturbed, Jian Zhenli knew him well enough to know that he would want to have this information right away.
Emperor Weide was isolated in nine layers of Spirit array formation masters and 5-star Heaven array formations. Those had been set up by various array formation masters. Not even Sun Liao had worked on all those. They were an absolute secret of the Hongchen Kingdom. Emperor Weide had only allowed people he would trust with his very life. Even across the centuries, there weren't many. At the very center of these array formations, he was cultivating with his daughter, Yong Ke.
Obviously, Cao Yun would have recognized his sister Cao Huiying. She had become a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior. For years, Emperor Weide had poured so many resources in her, this was insane. He needed her to fully awaken her Soul Embryo and to become a full-fledged 3rd-grade Spirit Warrior. Otherwise, absorbing her Soul Embryo wouldn't be as effective as it should be. But he couldn't destabilize her cultivation, so he had to personally help her. As such, he had used a wound as an excuse to stay in seclusion. Although it might make him look weak, he had no choice. After all, he couldn't tell the truth...
Unfortunately, awakening one's Soul Embryo couldn't just be forced. Despite all his efforts to bring her to this stage, he currently could do close to nothing. As such, he was simply monitoring her and making sure that her cultivation was solid and firm. At the same time, he was also preparing her soul and his for the ritual. While she thought that a loving father was helping her, he was just fattening a pig while already thinking about dinner. In his eyes, Yong Ke was barely human. Since the very first day, he knew he would have to cut her throat. As such, he had done everything he could not to get attached to her. To his own surprise, he disgusted himself by how easy it had been to consider her just like a piece of meat. Apparently, one more body under the foundation didn't disturb his peace at all.
Suddenly, Jian Zhenli broke his concentration. Instead of being furious, Emperor Weide was extremely worried; Jian Zhenli wouldn't have disturbed him unless something major had happened. Obviously, he immediately thought about an attack by Empyrean Asura or other powerful demons. But then, he saw joy on Jian Zhenli's face. His most trusted general didn't lose any time and explained the situation.
-
It didn't take long for Emperor Weide in person to appear to Hua Fenfei. Seeing him, she kowtowed and saluted him. He barely followed protocol as he was in a hurry.
"Director Hua, is it true? How confident are you?"
"This humble one wouldn't disturb Emperor Weide over nothing. Although it is difficult to be definitive, we do think that we can at least refine two successful pills. But we can't promise anything above 75% medicinal essence. Regarding the toxins, we can't be sure at all. My most conservative guess would be around 20 to 30%. Not ideal, but..."
"Acceptable. Do you have all the ingredients?"
"Yes, Emperor Weide. The ingredients we don't currently have are already being sent by the Huang family."
"The Huang family?! Do they know their use?"
"No, Emperor. We kept it secret."
"Good, good. I will personally make sure that Master Sun Liao gets to your Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute as soon as possible. Your pill is vital to the Hongchen Kingdom. Director Hua, if you achieve what you claim — and I do not doubt your reputation — then, you'll be the greatest hero of our Hongchen Kingdom."
Coming from the kingdom's greatest traitor... Director Hua bowed politely.