In the Imperial City, Sun Liao was running on fumes. Even with the support from his brother and the alchemists around him, he simply couldn't handle such a powerful array formation. After all, he wasn't just managing it, he was at its very core. Sun Liao had used his own martial arts in order to fight against the tyrannical Blood Sun. In other words, this wasn't so much an array formation as it was a form of battle formation that relied on Sun Liao as its main pillar while the other Spirit Warriors were giving him most of their strength. Unfortunately, Sun Liao was the weak link. When he fell, the battle formation would fall with him.
Cao Yun was still recovering from his breakthrough. Besides, sending more strength into Sun Liao wouldn't have solved the problem. In fact, he might have caused the collapse of the battle formation earlier. As such, he had used his 'Soul Chains' as a form of support while slowly turning the enemy's Death Energy into the strength of the Fusang tree. The strain on Sun Liao was lessening, but it was still too much.
Within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness, Dian Mo was observing everything. Obviously, he understood the current problem. Immediately, he focused all of his attention on the Staircase to Hell. Dian Mo could tell that this assault had been crafted by Demon God Da Mo. He recognized the work of his former master with a mere glance. However, unless he saw the actual array formation used by Empyrean Asura in Saint Citadel Sidi, analyzing it was difficult. With enough time, Dian Mo would have been able to find all the weaknesses within the assault, but time was their enemy.
"Boy, let me talk to your brother."
Cao Yun hesitated for an instant. Dian Mo liked to remain secretive. But if he couldn't help Sun Liao find a way to stop this Staircase to Hell, they would all die. Dying with or without secrets made little difference. Although it could distract Sun Liao, Cao Yun knew that Dian Mo might actually be able to help solve this crisis.
Another presence entered Sun Liao's mind that was already on the brink of collapse. A rampant darkness, like a thick smog, spread throughout the area. It appeared from the Soul Chains sent by Cao Yun to support his brother's mind and soul. Then, it coalesced into the shape of an arch. Sun Liao didn't pay much attention to it since it came from his brother, and he trusted him. However, he recognized this shape. It was the door of the Temple of Supreme Wisdom. After all, since his master's Soul Embryo was trapped there, it had left a deep impression on Sun Liao's mind.
From the dark gate, Dian Mo's voice echoed.
"You brat, listen to me. I'm here to help you. I've been sent by your brother Chen... I mean, your brother Cao Yun. There's no reason to alter his name with you... and with anyone else anymore for that matter... Anyway, we have to work together if we are to survive. Are you listening to me?!"
Sun Liao didn't even attempt to respond to the voice. Obviously, Dian Mo was irritated. He wanted to boast and to show off his expertise and his deep knowledge. Unfortunately, he knew that this young man was more talented than he was. After all, he had seen his craftsmanship all over the Hongchen Kingdom. That arrogant brat had even been able to improve on the array formations of the Wubei Sect in ways Dian Mo had never imagined before.
Dian Mo had spared his own ego by claiming the young man as his disciple. In a way, it was absolutely true. Indeed, Sun Liao had studied 'Crossing the Three Chasms in the Eight Directions' and a few manuals and treatises he had gotten from the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Within Sun Liao's array formations, Dian Mo was able to see bits and pieces of his own patterns. However, he had to admit that Sun Liao had many other influences. Maybe Dian Mo wasn't even the greatest of his influences. Anyway, now wasn't the time to stroke his ego. His friend Cao Yun had lost his younger sister and almost his life. Everyone in the Hongchen Kingdom could be slaughtered in horrendous ways. Dian Mo swallowed his pride, and it was a tough pill to swallow indeed.
"Young man, I'm the former spirit of the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. I reside within the sea of consciousness of your brother. The one who crafted the assault on the Imperial City is my former master. Although I can't quite see through all its weaknesses, you might be able to with a few pointers. I'll tell you everything I can, so listen close."
Although Sun Liao didn't respond right away, Dian Mo sensed a shift in his mood. Curiosity became anger and rage, indignation and sorrow. Using his mind cultivation, Sun Liao stopped thinking about his master and focused on the current disaster. He couldn't help anyone if he were dead.
Dian Mo talked and talked, and talked some more. When he said he was going to tell Sun Liao everything, he wasn't lying. The spirit gave the young array formation master every detail he could think of about the assault he was observing. Despite the lack of response, Dian Mo could tell that Sun Liao was listening intently. First of all, he could sense that the battle formation had slightly weakened because Sun Liao was distracted.
Slowly, within Sun Liao's sea of consciousness, the blueprint of an array formation began to form. Dian Mo was shocked. The young man already had a general idea of the actual array formation used by Empyrean Asura. And it was absolutely coherent. In fact, Dian Mo could have thought that it was the real deal. However, there were flaws, and entire areas were missing. Some parts began to change, they moved as Dian Mo was speaking. Seeing what Sun Liao had in mind, Dian Mo stopped talking about everything and focused on the details relevant to the schematics he had in front of him.
Here and there, Dian Mo had his doubts, so he had no problem asking Cao Yun, who had a good understanding of both Death Energy and Evil Qi. After all, this array formation was about weaponizing them. With his knowledge of the Dao of Death, Cao Yun was the perfect cultivator to consult on the matter. Moreover, he was also a good array formation master. That being said, Sun Liao was in a completely different league. As Dian Mo was seeing Sun Liao work, he was absolutely stunned.
Not only did Sun Liao listen to everything Dian Mo was saying and altered his mental image accordingly, but he even reflected back on other details as well. Each time he changed something, Sun Liao quickly identified where his array formation failed because of this recent change and put it right on the fly. In less than a day, they might actually be able to have a perfect blueprint of the array formation used by Empyrean Asura. In fact, Sun Liao could probably improve upon it. Of course, their goal wasn't to copy it, it was to exploit its weaknesses. As such, they didn't actually need a full blueprint, just enough to find where to push. It was a good thing, too. Indeed, they didn't have an entire day left.
Although Sun Liao's battle formation was growing weaker, Cao Yun was compensating with his 'Soul Chains'. Besides, he knew that Sun Liao was working on the problem with Dian Mo. As such, Cao Yun was confident he only had to reduce the pressure for a short time before the two of them could come up with a solution.
With his new perception, Cao Yun was the first one to sense a change in his brother. Sun Liao's state of mind had become much more resolute. Soon after, Cao Yun heard Dian Mo tell him that they had found a way.
Grabbing his 'Heavenly Mirror Longbow', Sun Liao asked his brother for help. With his new mastery of the Dao of Death, Cao Yun used 'Soul Chains' to create an arrow. In his mind, he focused on the glyphs and seals. According to 'Death Verses', each of the ten verses could be cultivated separately at first. They had to become glyphs and then seals. It was highly recommended to fully master a verse before working on another one, as it would make everything easier and smoother. The verses had to be turned into glyphs and then into their ultimate form, personal seals. Each cultivator would have slightly different glyphs and seals.
After that, one could engrave those seals into a Death Stele. This Death Stele would then become the Death Scripture that would be further refined as the cultivator studied the Dao of Death. As Cao Yun progressed in this technique, he would also form the Dao Insight and Dao Seed from the Dao of Death. The two systems would benefit from one another, growing stronger and stronger. Right now, Cao Yun could feel that he had only slightly begun to form a Dao Insight of the Dao of Death. It was hard to tell, but he was almost certain he could feel it in his Po. For now, it was still diffuse, but he could tell there was something.
Using his first seals, 'See Through the Mud', 'Death Reeling' and 'Living Death', Cao Yun formed an arrow of 'Soul Chains'.
On the 'Heavenly Mirror Longbow', a very thin white bone appeared. The air around it became eerie and cold. From the air, tiny bits and pieces of bone appeared and merged with this thin bone. It began to grow and grow. Although it didn't really look like an arrow and more like a strangely deformed straight rib, the bow beneath it made its purpose quite clear to anyone. Just looking at the bone arrow made one's skin crawl. If a weak cultivator looked at it for too long, they could hear wails of pain and agony. But they could also sense a bloodthirsty rage. Cao Yun had mostly used Death Energy from the victims of Empyrean Asura. As such, they seemed to have an instinctive understanding of the situation. It was as if they were glad that Sun Liao was going to turn them into a weapon against their tormentor.
With his knowledge of the soul, Cao Yun knew that such an awareness wasn't possible. Unfortunately, the victims had their souls completely crushed. Only pieces of memories remained, nothing that could form even a coherent thought. The emotions were all mixed together and were blurred. Besides, there was no ego to even perceive or process those emotions. However, something in him liked the idea that the victims could get their revenge, the revenge he was looking for himself. Cao Yun looked at Emperor Weide. He might not have his revenge, after all...
Finally, the bone arrow was complete. They could always wait for more and more Death Energy, but they had what they needed. Dian Mo had also helped Sun Liao find the main spots they had to target in order to break apart the assault. They didn't actually need to completely destroy the Staircase to Hell. Only weakening it enough would do the trick. Indeed, Sun Liao's battle formation was very powerful, and several Spirit Warriors had combined their might to make it so.
Sun Liao raised his bow to the sky. He wasn't even watching where he was firing. At least, he wasn't using his eyes. Within his sea of consciousness, nine suns were shining brightly and sending their light on specific spots of the array formation he had reformed with Dian Mo's help. When Sun Liao was satisfied with his aim, he let go of the arrow. As it flew in the air, the bone arrow took a life of its own. The bone almost turned into a root or a branch of a tree.
"To the West, Ruomu lies"!
The bone arrow grew like a small tree as it was flying higher and higher. Several branches appeared from this dead tree and shot forward with even more speed. In a few breaths, more than a dozen arrows were now ascending into the heavens. They passed through the nine suns on the Fusang tree and caught on fire. But it was a strange fire. Outside, it was warm and fiery. But within, it was cold and icy, dead inside.
At last, the arrows reached outside the Fusang tree. They entered the blood rain. As the blood rain was pressing down on the arrows, the fire surrounding them vaporized most of the blood. In fact, some of the blood got turned into pure Death Energy and was used to grow the arrows even more. This rain was nourishing the dead branches instead of crushing them as intended.
Finally, the branches grew large enough to look like trees from below. Even with their senses, the Spirit Warriors had a hard time seeing the trees. They were so far that it was almost impossible to notice them. However, everyone could see balls of fire flying upward. There were dozens of them, with very different trajectories, as if they had a will of their own.
Suddenly, they collided with other stars that were immobile in the sky. Huge explosions shook the ground below. It was as if stars were falling to the Piaolu planet. There were holes in the dark sky. Beneath those holes, one could see the actual sky. Indeed, everything was the manifestation of Empyrean Asura's array formation. Sun Liao's attack had literally pierced this fake sky, but it was not over. Now the Blood Sun was weak. Sun Liao and Dian Mo had found the spots that were holding the array formation together. Even the blood rain began to slow down and die out. It was the perfect moment to attack and annihilate this assault.
"Nine back at Fusang"!
Unfortunately, Sun Liao still couldn't use the most powerful move of 'Houyi's Nine Suns'. Anyway, this technique should be enough. High in the sky, there were nine suns, mimicking the ones on the Fusang tree. All of a sudden, they expanded and flew straight toward the Blood Sun. As they moved through the firmament, they burned through the sky itself, revealing the bright rays of the actual sun behind. It was as if a divine light was exorcising this Blood Sun. All nine suns collided exactly at the center of their paths, on the Blood Sun. The sky shook. Cracks spread. The heavens shattered and collapsed.