The entire world was bathed in blood. A powerful killing intent spread throughout the whole battlefield. Even the Six Fangs Generals were forced to pour more and more of their own strength into the pillars they were protecting or it could have collapsed. This killing intent was extremely corrosive and aggressive as it was mixed with Death Energy within. All life that remained on the ground began to wither and die.
Thankfully, Hongyu had no issues. Indeed, this intent was now a part of her through her Wrath Core. In fact, she was becoming stronger and stronger under this red star. She could feel her blood boil in her veins and send more and more vitality through her flesh. She had to suppress a desire to fly higher and higher. After all, she couldn't roam freely in this battlefield or she would have been injured or even killed. Unfortunately, she wasn't powerful enough to deal with such a battle. But she was still faster than even Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. As such, she could easily avoid any attack that sometimes accidentally reached her.
By that time, Cao Yun heard his own blood explode. The speed of his blood increased suddenly and was accelerated eightfold. As he was also pushing his blood circulation to the limit, his body had taken the shape of a true full-blooded asura. In fact, his bloodline was even purer than Demon God Da Mo's as it was based around the Drop of Wrath, that belonged to a demon who had broken through to the very last realms of cultivation. Besides, he also had blood from the Weaver of Souls.
Since his blood was circulating so fast and with immense pressure, even the blood of Demon God Da Mo that was still plaguing him cowered in fear. It wasn't annihilated but instead hid deeper and deeper, becoming almost dormant. Paradoxically, it would probably be harder for Cao Yun to find and seal it now. It was like a frightened animal, cornered and ready to fight with the strength of despair.
Cao Yun's clothes were torn because of the javelins that had stabbed him. As such, a large portion of his skin was visible. It was as red as fresh blood. All his hair had turned completely white and a powerful aura was emanating from him. Even Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan was shaken by this sight. For demons, it was almost like seeing a god being reborn. They could feel something deep in their own blood.
All the Six Fangs Generals were affected by it. Their Turbid Demons were rattling their metaphorical cages. Consequently, they had to use more and more will to contain them. Cao Yun's cultivation was at the apex of the current Piaolu planet, at least when it concerned his asura cultivation. Only the Empyrean Asura could contend with him, and merely thanks to Demon God Da Mo's soul. Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin who had met the Empyrean Asura could hardly believe his senses. Cao Yun's blood cultivation was probably a bit higher than this supreme demon at the top of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy.
All that being said, Cao Yun did lack the strength of Demon God Da Mo. As such, Marshal Shanyin Guan wasn't as terrorized as he had been in front of the tyrannical theocrat.
'Five Gates of Virtue' - 'All Virtues Eclipse the World'!
Before Cao Yun could strike, Marshal Shanyin Guan tried to take the upper hand. The five gates high in the sky opened fully. The wooden doors almost broke under the violence of the opening. The pillars began to crack. More and more weapons emerged from the gates and all went, like violent tides, toward Cao Yun.
'Dragon Swimming Against the Storm'!
Cao Yun's spear turned into lightning and stabbed forward. In fact, Cao Yun's entire body turned into lightning. Where he was an instant before, only a red mist remained. When the polearms reached that place, they began to melt under the killing intent contained in this red mist as well as burn because of small traces of the Black Heart Flame. In an instant, Cao Yun had reached a sword in the distance. The very moment Marshal Shanyin caught him with his senses, Cao Yun moved once again.
The young man was as fast as lightning. Although he couldn't move too far, his speed had exceeded everything he was capable of. That being said, it didn't deter Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. Even if he couldn't move like that, it was clear to him that Cao Yun was doing so by bursts. In other words, he couldn't control his movements at that speed and would only rush straight forward.
Even without Shanyin Guan's deliberate control, all the polearms were aiming at Cao Yun as if they had wills of their own. Indeed, the Marshal had begun to develop his Spear Spirit so they followed his wishes without his intervention. But they still weren't fast enough to catch up with the young man.
Cao Yun accumulated momentum and finally decided to strike his enemy.
'Azure Dragon Tears the East Sky'!
Using a very simple move, Cao Yun focused all of his Spear Heart on the tip of his 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar'. The pillar of pure black flames and lightning pierced toward Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan. As it moved, it created a powerful whirlwind all around itself. Bolts of lightning appeared as well as black flames fueled by Death Energy. This strike had reached the absolute apex of what Cao Yun's current spearmanship could achieve.
Unfortunately, Shanyin Guan's spearmanship was even better.
'One Root to Hold the World'!
Shanyin Guan's 'Marshal's Vanguard' almost appeared out of nowhere and its tip was suddenly reaching for Cao Yun's spear. No one was able to perceive any imperfection in this technique, not even Cao Yun. It wasn't perfect, but it was so close to it that no martial artist on the Piaolu planet could find any fault in this current technique.
The two weapons were about to collide with one another. All around Cao Yun's 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' was a powerful killing intent as well as Death Energy. For Shanyin Guan's double-ended spear, it was like moving within a vat of acid while striking against a steel wall. However, Shanyin Guan's aim held true. Around his own spear, there was an air of moral authority as though the entire world had to bow in reverence.
Finally, the two weapons were one instant away from colliding. But, the pressure of Shanyin Guan's powerful attack caused Cao Yun's spear to shift. As such, 'Marshal's Vanguard' kept moving forward, aiming straight for Cao Yun's heart. On the other hand, 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' changed its course. The young man had to use all of his strength to try and correct it. With enormous strain, he was able to keep it going for his opponent but he was barely able to control the trajectory.
Although time itself had seemed to slow down for the two fighters, everything happened in less than the blink of an eye.
One moment, the Six Fangs Generals saw the two men facing each other. The next moment, both of their weapons had reached the opponent.
'Marshal's Vanguard' was still going for Cao Yun's heart and the young man had no possibility of blocking it. Worse than that, he could tell that he couldn't even move. All around him was a powerful aura. It was as if the Heavens themselves had decreed that Cao Yun had to die by this spear. Despite circulating his blood like crazy, he couldn't move one inch. However, everything wasn't lost. Suddenly, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan felt a terrible pain throughout his entire soul. Cao Yun had sent a surge of blood into his eyes and his Upper Dantian. Thanks to it, his 'Weeping Asura' had become even stronger.
Within Shanyin Guan's sea of consciousness, Axiu Qian and Cao Yun's seven Turbid Demons were wreaking havoc. At last, Axiu Qian was able to break the bamboo slip he was holding. Under this intense pain, Shanyin Guan lost a bit of control over his double-ended spear. Even slightly, it moved off course. Instead of stabbing Cao Yun's heart and killing him on the spot, the spear struck his ribs. It shattered a few ribs and slid off them. The full brunt of the attack was then sent through the young man's right flank.
Cao Yun's entire right side exploded. His intestines ruptured and even his right kidney was crushed, with only a small part of it remaining within his body. There was a gaping hole in Cao Yun's right side that had turned into a mist of red goo. Some of his broken ribs were even visible. As his incredibly dense blood and his organs turned into mash fell to the ground, it created a small pond.
Thankfully, Cao Yun had protected his Lower Dantian as much as possible as well as his prenatal Jing. They had been enveloped with a thick layer of Wei Qi as well as Golden Blood. As terrible as the wound appeared, it was things Cao Yun could heal from. He could repair all those organs. If he had fully lost his right kidney, it would have been more difficult. But he could fully restore it with what remained. And the same held true for his intestines. The only thing that had scared him was the extent of the damage to his Lower Dantian. But his defenses had been successful and it was not damaged in the least.
On the other side of the spear, Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan had also received Cao Yun's weapon. Unlike his 'Marshal's Vanguard', 'Tainted Heavenly Pillar' had completely lost any and all control over its trajectory. However, it had still struck him. In fact, it had hit the Marshal right in the upper chest, just above his heart, at the very top of his sternum.
As Cao Yun's spear struck the bone, it completely collapsed inward and cracked. A few fragments pierced Shanyin Guan's flesh, but his sternum endured and the spear slid off it. Thankfully, it didn't reach his heart, but it flew toward his neck. Moving his head at the very last moment, the spear completely destroyed the left side of Shanyin Guan's throat and ended its course in the air. Major veins were ruptured by this terrifying attack and burst open. Even with his control over his own blood, a large amount of Golden Blood flew all over the place. On the ground, the blood of the two fighters almost formed a small river.
With such severe injuries, the two men had to focus all their energy and mind on protecting their own life and preventing the damage to become even worse. As such, they both fell down toward the ground at alarming speed. None of them had lost consciousness but they couldn't control their descent.
Before Cao Yun could crash to the ground, Hongyu had caught him on her back and flew higher and higher in the sky. All the weapons were falling as the sky was turning blue again and the five gates were dissipating like a rainbow would. It was raining swords and polearms all over the place. Hongyu was fast enough to dodge them all and fly high above them. But Silver Wolf Marshal Shanyin Guan couldn't move at all as he was falling.
Suddenly, Xun Lieren caught the Marshal and flew back toward his pillar. Among the Six Fangs Generals, he was the fastest. After all, he was specialized in hunting. Despite their intense desire to go to their Marshal, the Six Fangs Generals kept their positions.
"Open!"
Shanyin Guan's order reached all of them. Without any hesitation, they completely released the 'Maw of Absolute Bond'. On the chains linking the six white fangs, the various runes and seal papers dissipated while the fangs themselves began to crumble to dust and blow away. All the Six Fangs Generals were now around their Marshal, supporting them and pouring their own vitality into him to help him recover faster. It was as if they had completely forgotten about Cao Yun.
Hongyu was about to fly away when she heard her brother's voice. He told her to wait. Of course, she was dumbfounded but then, she heard the Marshal's voice. His neck had been partially torn apart so there was blood in his throat and it affected the sound of his voice, but it was still clear enough.
"Cao Yun... I'll remember the name."
"Marshal, it's a shame you decided to bend the knee in front of that monster. With your strength, you might have been able to destroy him."
"Humph... At what cost?! I will do everything I can to protect my people. There is no victory against Demon God Da Mo."
"But there is no peace either. The only path is subjugation or death."
"Then, I will protect my people as long as possible... You may think me a fool, but I will accept any insult and any outrage so long as I can protect my Langyin Region. No matter how powerful you are, how powerful you get, we demons cannot oppose our own progenitor. If I hadn't bent the knee, my Langyin Region would be a cemetery."
"You just delayed the inevitable. If you think the Empyrean Asura will keep his words, you've lost your mind."
"You're probably right. He will try to convert the entire world to his fanatical views. But there is no other way... As long as I serve him, I might be able to protect my people even a bit longer. As I said, I gave my word, and I'll abide by it! I received the order to kill you. But I failed. My men won't chase you. Next time we meet though..."
There was a pause in Marshal Shanyin Guan's voice.
"I know what you are..."
His last words were spoken with his spiritual senses. None of his men heard him. Cao Yun himself was shocked. There was no misinterpreting those words. Shanyin Guan knew that Cao Yun was human.
"Your ancestor beat Demon God Da Mo... Maybe you... Maybe..."
The Marshal fell unconscious. Although his martial arts were above Cao Yun's, his soul was still inferior. As such, his mind couldn't take much more of it and fell into darkness. Then, Hongyu flew into the distance with Cao Yun on her back.