Emperor Weide was elated by the sudden news. However, he kept his composure. A pill, no matter how great it might be, would never be enough to break through the veil of the Dao. Twice, Emperor Weide had observed Matriarch Huang try to break through. He had tried to break through himself. As such, he knew exactly how difficult it was. According to all the documents and treatises he had read, Matriarch Huang, Sect Leader Xuan and himself all should have been able to break through. Unfortunately, they were living under the Forsaken Dao Era. Thus, they were doomed to fail. To be honest, they were even stronger than some geniuses of the previous era. But none could go through this barrier.
Despite all their research, they didn't know why this barrier existed. Thankfully, it also blocked the demons from breaking through. Otherwise, mankind would have been obliterated long ago. Emperor Weide constantly felt the threat of the Empyrean Asura. By whatever means necessary, he had to break through. He was the last and sole hope for mankind. As such, he had no problem sacrificing anyone.
After his conversation with Director Hua, Emperor Weide turned to Jian Zhenli.
"General, what news is there about the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu?"
"My Lord, we lost all contact with the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. I've already sent scouts to investigate the situation. But... it's highly likely that they failed. If that is the case, I will accept full responsibility for the failure of my battalion."
Emperor Weide pondered over the matter for a short while. Then, he put his hand on Jian Zhenli's shoulder.
"My friend, I trust in your judgment wholeheartedly. There is no reason for Yan Huoling to fail. I cannot believe that her Solar-Orchid Flame could lose against that demonic beast. If we lost contact with them, something else probably happened. Be careful with your scouts. It's possible that some demons survived. We'll monitor the situation. Those desolate regions might be an even bigger threat than I initially thought."
"Should I send reinforcements?"
"No! For now, our priority is to protect my daughter. She'll soon awaken her Soul Embryo. I can feel it very clearly. If we can't refine the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu, we'll have to rely on inferior materials. Hopefully, this miraculous Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill will help us. By the time it is refined, we need to have Yong Ke perfectly ready, body and soul, for the ritual. Make sure that nothing and no one can disturb it. If I'm able to break through, our Hongchen Kingdom will be saved. Not only will we slaughter all our enemies within and without, but we'll also annihilate this curse over us all. I will open the way to a new golden age. We might even surpass the Legendary Era..."
"I understand, my Lord. This humble one will personally take care of defending the Imperial City and the Everlasting Earth Palace."
"Good, good. I rely on you, old friend. I know you'll die before you disappoint me."
Finally, Emperor Weide quickly returned to Yong Ke's chamber. The young girl was wearing a white and golden robe over her sweaty body. She was so immobile that one could have mistaken her for a statue. For several days now, she had been perfectly still, apart from the sweat dripping from her. Indeed, she was cultivating as much as she could. In fact, she was very close to collapsing from exhaustion. Looking at her, Emperor Weide had a very small moment of pity. But then, he remembered that she was going to serve the greater good. What could be more honorable than that?! Besides, the alternative was to be abused and slaughtered by the Empyrean Asura Theocracy as soon as they destroyed the Hongchen Kingdom. This was the right thing to do, undoubtedly!
Emperor Weide sat cross-legged in front of his daughter. Immediately, he went back to work. With everything he could, he was helping her cultivate.
-
Director Hua had absolutely no doubt that Feng Yingyue would succeed in her breakthrough. Indeed, she was confident in Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue's dual cultivation. Although she could perceive what was going on even in the array formations isolating them, she didn't spy on them. After all, cultivation was personal, and dual cultivation was even more intimate. She wouldn't do that to her own disciple. However, she did monitor the fluctuations of Qi and of the five elements all around the array formation. As such, she was able to gauge how well it was going. Clearly, their dual cultivation was going extremely well. In fact, Director Hua was aware of Feng Yingyue's breakthrough before it even happened, just by sensing the fluctuations of Fire Qi and Water Qi in the surroundings.
The array formations around their chamber could always stabilize the five elements, in order to create a perfectly neutral environment. As such, it would draw in different kinds of Qi to keep the balance. In other words, Director Hua could tell that a huge amount of Fire Qi was being released within. From what she understood about her disciple, it wasn't difficult at all to guess how well her cultivation was going.
That being said, even Director Hua was surprised when she sensed Feng Yingyue the moment she left the chamber. Contrary to her expectations, her disciple wasn't a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior, she was already a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior. Much more surprising than her was Cao Yun's cultivation. In around two months, he had broken through to the 7th-grade Spirit Warrior. Although she could tell that it was still a bit shaky, it was incredibly impressive. Of course, she couldn't be sure how long he had stayed as a 5th-grade Spirit Warrior. But even if he had broken through to the 6th-grade Spirit Warrior at the beginning of their session, two months to go through this stage was unheard of. No matter how much he had prepared beforehand, it was outside her expectations. In fact, it was outside of her common sense.
More and more, Director Hua was interested in Cao Yun's mind and soul cultivation. When he had told her everything, he had obviously talked about this method but he had kept most of it secret. Now, she could understand why. This technique, invented by an asura who had sided with mankind, was exceptional. Of course, it wasn't the sole reason of Cao Yun's fast cultivation, but it was still a very important part of it.
Anyway, she would ask Cao Yun for this cultivation method. But she was half expecting him not to tell her anything. She was ready to swear an oath on her Dao Heart, just to be able to see the very first layer of this 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks'.
At last, Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue came into her chambers. They both bowed and saluted her.
"This humble one greets Director Hua."
"This humble one greets Master."
"Such formality is useless here. We're in private."
Despite her certitude that they were in a secure location, Director Hua hesitated. In the end, she called Cao Yun by his fake name. It was useless to take any kind of risk if it wasn't necessary. After all, they were actively working against Emperor Weide, the legitimate successor of Emperor Nuwa herself. No mistake could be allowed, or she could imagine the fate that awaited her entire Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. It wouldn't be any better than the fate of the Cao family, maybe even worse, in fact.
"Chen Guo, I have received several messages. First of all, your brother Sun Liao is coming to our Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute posthaste. Emperor Weide sent him personally in order to help us refine the Nine-Souls Calamity Ascension Pill. Hopefully, you and my disciple can work together alongside Spirit Master Xiao and myself. I'll ask all the alchemists who can help to assist during the refinement. I am very confident in our chances of success."
"Thank you, Director Hua. This is great news. With my recent breakthrough, I am almost certain that we will succeed. Unfortunately, I will need a few more days, maybe weeks, to be fully ready. Hopefully, Brother Sun will arrive after that."
"This is difficult to say. After all, no one but Emperor Weide knew where he was when he was sent to us. However, it shouldn't take him too long either. That being said, this isn't the only news I wanted to discuss. The Wubei Sect contacted us in secret. Apparently, your other brother, Ren Chao, finished a task you had given him. Although they didn't tell us what it was, I can imagine... He's been sent to our Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. Since he's traveling in secret, it should take him some time to get here. Once again, it's difficult to be sure. But I imagine that he'll be here within two months, at the latest."
"I see."
Even Cao Yun had a hard time hiding his smile. Not only did it mean that Ren Chao had finally finished his spear, but it also meant that all four brothers and sister were going to meet again. Mei Hua was already here, but now Ren Chao and Sun Liao were approaching. Sun Liao was the only one Cao Yun had not met since his return. Among his brothers and sister, Sun Liao was also the man who had the key to Cao Yun's success. Although Sun Liao was actually needed to ensure the success of the refinement, Cao Yun had asked Director Hua to use it as a pretense. Indeed, Cao Yun needed to talk with his brother, and he had found no other way to locate him. At the same time, this pill would be Cao Yun's greatest weapon against Emperor Weide.
Moreover, while Emperor Weide was waiting for this pill, Cao Yun knew that his little sister was safe. Unless they took too long to refine the pill, Emperor Weide would wait for it. After all, he couldn't get the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu now. The young man was trying to plan everything as best as he could.
"Is everything ready?"
"Everything we've talked about has been taken care of."
Cao Yun could tell that there was something else in Director Hua's tone. Clearly, she took him even more seriously than before. After all, he was now a late Spirit Warrior, besides being a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. Although his asura cultivation was impressive, Director Hua obviously valued his human cultivation more. There were several reasons. The most obvious one was that she was human herself, so she understood it better. But another very important reason was that Cao Yun couldn't freely display his asura cultivation while he could flaunt his human cultivation all he wanted. As such, their chances of success were that much higher now.
It was difficult to tell, but there was perhaps some gratitude in her tone too. The young man had helped her disciple grow strong extremely fast. At that moment, Director Hua could see a bright future for her Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, but also for the entire Hongchen Kingdom. Cao Yun was the man who could make all of that possible. A dark thought crossed Director Hua. Even if Cao Yun were to be killed, as long as they could take down Emperor Weide, the future of their Hongchen Kingdom would probably be bright. However, the best outcome was for Cao Yun to survive.
Considering his relationship with the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, Director Hua wasn't afraid that Cao Yun would ever betray them. However, she started to doubt the Huang family. The Wubei Sect would obviously support their young sect master no matter what. But Director Hua had to wonder why the Huang family supported Cao Yun so much. In the end, she could only see one reason. Huang Cixi wanted to be Emperor. If that was the case, then she would have a lot of incentives to kill Cao Yun. The Huang family could use the fight between the two men to strike down the one who would survive. Director Hua saw many scenarios.
All things considered, it was better if Cao Yun survived. But if he failed, Director Hua had to make sure to keep good relationships with the Huang family. Unfortunately, Feng Yingyue's deep affection for Cao Yun would make it difficult if Cao Yun was killed by the Huang family after slaying Emperor Weide. The next best scenario after Cao Yun winning would be Emperor Weide killing him just to be executed by the Huang family. Despite her affection to the young man, Director Hua had to think about the future of the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute.
As if he were reading her mind, Cao Yun smiled to Hua Fenfei.
"Do not worry, Director. I trust all my allies."
A bit taken aback, Director Hua simply nodded. Feng Yingyue didn't guess everything that her master was thinking, but she could understand her problems. No matter how close she was to Cao Yun, she was also loyal to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute. So, she knew that things could become difficult for her very soon. However, she wasn't worried at all. Just like Cao Yun and his brothers and sister, Feng Yingyue was ready to give her life in the upcoming fight. Thus, if they failed, she didn't need to worry about the future, as she wouldn't have one. On the other hand, if she had a future, then, it meant they had succeeded. And they would succeed, for sure.
Cao Yun and Feng Yingyue talked with Director Hua. To her surprise, Cao Yun accepted to share his knowledge of 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks' with her. He only made her promise to keep it secret. Since she was Feng Yingyue's master, Cao Yun implicitly trusted her. That being said, she still vowed upon her Dao Heart. Hearing the details of the method, she was extremely impressed and decided to start cultivating it right away. Director Hua was currently an 8th-grade Spirit Warrior. In other words, she was trying to open the Third Eye of her Soul Embryo. Cultivating her mind and soul could help her in this endeavor.