On his way, Cao Yun found several high ranking officers but he was very careful. Killing only one early Accomplished Demon was already pretty dangerous. Thankfully, no one had noticed anything until he was done. But if he had gone around slaughtering all the officers, of course, the army would have fought back. Even a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon couldn't fight thousands of soldiers by himself. After all, there were even complex array formations all over the place. If he was discovered, Cao Yun would have a hard time. Besides, destabilizing the border wasn't necessarily a good thing if Cao Yun wasn't working in unison with the Hongchen Kingdom.
All that being said, Cao Yun had been looking for higher-ranking officers. Unfortunately, he had failed to get any one of them isolated. And he couldn't simply kill them out in the open without alerting anyone. While the officer he had killed had very useful information, she wasn't privy to everything. As a matter of fact, her knowledge was mostly limited to the border itself. She had never led any soldiers farther behind the front lines. However, she knew almost all the officers and had great insights into the front lines themselves. Like most officers, she wasn't very zealous, but she did believe in the Heavenly Demon God. She was convinced that eradicating the humans was his will and that all the demons had to make it so.
Still pushing his stealth as much as possible, Cao Yun reached the tunnels. They were protected with many layers of array formations and heavily guarded. After all, this was the main entrance used by the demons to get into the Hongchen Kingdom. As such, even Cao Yun would have a very hard time getting inside. His stealth was exceptional for the Piaolu planet, but it wasn't absolute either. Unless soldiers were sent to battle, all the entrances were kept physically shut. Of course, Cao Yun could break through any of those entrances, but it would cause a huge commotion and he would be found out. Unfortunately, the demons didn't seem to be ready to attack any time soon. Apparently, they were strengthening their position.
Considering that the Silver Wolf Marshal and his Six Fangs Generals had been called back, it made a lot of sense. From what Cao Yun had seen in the officer's memories, a large-scale attack had happened recently. The humans had tried to destroy a few tunnels and the demons had fought back. According to the demons, this had been a huge success. However, the officer herself wasn't too sure about that. Lies and deceptions were everywhere in order to keep the morale up. Most likely, this had indeed been a success, but it had been as costly to the demons as it had been to the humans. Anyway, it had been her guess.
The young man observed the entrance he had reached for some time. He made sure to remember absolutely everything. Then, he would go to the other entrances. Maybe he would find a weak spot or something. He couldn't just wait until the demons decided to strike. Thus, he began to think about simply flying straight into the Hongchen Kingdom. Normally, the array formations laid by Emperor Nuwa and Saint Duan Huang were supposed to only prevent demons from going through them. Humans should be able to walk freely from one side to the other. However, Cao Yun was a bit skeptical. Indeed, he had cultivated the asura way. Moreover, he quite literally had very potent demon blood in his veins. So he wasn't sure how the array formations would react...
After some time, Cao Yun began to hear some ruckus in the distance. He felt more and more killing intent spread all over the place. Several powerful demons rose in the air. Among them were late Accomplished Demons. Close to the young man, he could feel the blood vitality of a dozen 7th-grade Accomplished Demons. They were clearly on par with the Six Fangs Generals. Besides, those were just the ones close to him.
All around him, Cao Yun felt the pressure of their killing intent and blood cultivation. They were going all out to comb the entire area. So there was absolutely no doubt. Even though he had taken her body with him, someone had discovered that the officer had disappeared. On the ground, more and more soldiers were being mobilized. Cao Yun also felt the array formations connecting with one another. All those camps were forming a giant array formation themselves. And it was closing down around the entire area.
If he didn't act soon, Cao Yun would be in a world of trouble. First of all, he wasn't absolutely sure his stealth would hide him forever. Moreover, he was also with Hongyu. As much as he was using his 'Ashen Feather Seal' to conceal her presence too, it wasn't as effective as the stealth around himself alone.
Then, Cao Yun had to do something. Should he just break through one of the entrances and make a run for it? Should he try to fly straight into the defenses and get inside the Hongchen Kingdom?
"Boy! No matter what you do, act now! I recognize this array formation, you're not ready for it!"
As Dian Mo spoke, Cao Yun also recalled the array formation in question. It was 'Hellish Turmoils in the Muddy Realms'. Although it should be a 4-star Spirit array formation, this version had been altered and was only a 5-star Heaven array formation. Still, it was extremely powerful. Indeed, Cao Yun was not ready for it at the moment. Besides, the main problem was that this array formation was being supported by all the military camps all over the area. In other words, it could use the vitality of millions of demons. Cao Yun would most likely be killed before he could decipher the array formation anyway.
"Do you think Emperor Nuwa's defenses will let me pass?"
"I have no idea, boy. Even I can't decipher them. After all, your forefathers spent centuries setting up those array formations. When they were set up, they had to be on the verge of being God array formations. Although they were eroded, those array formations are still incredibly powerful and complex. I would need at least a few decades to give you useful insights, and a century or two would be nice to really begin to understand how they work... But, my crude guess is that as long as you suppress your asura cultivation and conceal the blood of Demon God Da Mo, you should be able to go in. After all, even humans have demon blood in them, so the array formations don't attack based on blood alone. Besides, the demons had been able to send spies through it. So maybe it has more to do with the asura cultivation itself. I can't be sure..."
"I see... Wait! Those array formations were almost God array formations?! You're saying they're Spirit array formations then?! Does it mean they have a spirit, just like you in the Palace of Supreme Wisdom?"
"Of course! Wasn't it obvious?! Array formations that were able to keep Reborn Demons away back in the day, can't just be Heaven array formations. As long as the array formations exist, they do have a spirit. Considering how weakened they've become, I'm pretty certain that the spirit is dormant, or at the very least it's limiting its consciousness to just be barely aware of what's going on. It can't even communicate with anyone and must just focus on its purpose, slowly waiting for its inevitable death as the array formations collapse with time. Even though those array formations are a bit younger than me, not by much, they've been solicited a lot more. They had to deal with many onslaughts, so it's not a surprise that they're in a more sorry state."
Of course, Cao Yun knew all of that. But somehow, it had never hit him that the defenses of the Hongchen Kingdom were literally conscious. Maybe he and Dian Mo could help restore those array formations to their former glory if they were able to get into contact with their spirit. Even if Dian Mo or Cao Yun couldn't understand those array formations, their spirit would be able to tell them how to restore them, even just a little. However, there was no time to think about it right now.
Suddenly, Cao Yun felt all the killing intent in the area focus around him. It wasn't exactly on him, but it was all around his current location. In the sky, the Accomplished Demons were also getting closer and closer. Somehow, they had been able to guess his general position. Thankfully though, they didn't know exactly where he was.
Hongyu was faster than all of those Accomplished Demons. If worse came to worst, Hongyu and Cao Yun could probably escape them, but they might not be able to leave the array formations at the border. Even if they did, they would have a harder time getting back here in the near future. So Cao Yun had to get into the Hongchen Kingdom immediately.
Pushing his worries aside, the young man decided to simply fly straight into the defenses of the Hongchen Kingdom. And to make sure that they didn't stop him, he would not only suppress his asura cultivation, but also circulate his full human cultivation. Even now, he was creating many seals all around his Drop of Wrath. At any moment, he could decide to release them, but it would still take some time to do so.
In a few minutes, Cao Yun's 9th-grade Accomplished Demon cultivation was completely suppressed, sealed away. In his sea of consciousness, there were red and yellow papers with strange runes and characters written on them, pasted all over the Drop of Wrath. Even Cao Yun's Nin Soul Peaks were covered in chains that were going into the air and coiling around the wrapped-up Drop of Wrath. Cao Yun's Demon Soul was completely hidden. Although he could still feel it, it was impossible for someone outside of his sea of consciousness to even guess its existence.
For all intents and purposes, Cao Yun was now a mere 5th-grade Spirit Warrior. Besides, he pushed his Soul Embryo as much as he could. A blinding light emerged from it and spread all over Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. In his meridians, Cao Yun's Qi got more and more excited, also concealing his bloodline a little, like a bright star hiding a moon with its blinding light. Obviously, it was putting his stealth in jeopardy, but he didn't care.
Indeed, as he was doing all of that, Hongyu was flying directly into the Hongchen Kingdom, straight into the array formations around it.
As Cao Yun was sealing his asura cultivation and circulating his Qi cultivation, the Accomplished Demons finally found him. They were immediately flying in his direction. On the ground, many demons were also getting ready. Thousands of soldiers, Golden Blood Children and Blood Children, were mobilized. Cao Yun could hear chants and mantras. In his general location, there was a potent killing intent that began to pressure him and Hongyu. It felt as though they were flying through thick blood. The world around them wanted to break their bones and rip the flesh from their mangled skeletons.
The young man pushed his Soul Embryo even further and further. As fast as his cultivation had been, the young man was not close to being a 6th-grade Spirit Warrior yet. After suppressing his asura cultivation, he suddenly felt weaker than ever. Of course, he was extremely powerful. But, after fighting the Silver Wolf Marshal with all his strength, this amount of restraint was infuriating and frustrating. Unfortunately, he had no choice if he wanted to make sure he could get home. Besides, he would have to hide his asura cultivation once inside, especially with the spies the demons had sent ten years ago. People might think he was a spy...
An axe as large as Hongyu herself flew past Cao Yun. It appeared out of nowhere. Not even Cao Yun or Dian Mo had been able to sense it before it tried to cut off the young man's head. Thankfully, Hongyu dodged it through instincts alone. She didn't pay any mind to what was going on behind her, despite all the Qi Manifestations of the Accomplished Demons' martial arts. Cao Yun could feel the pressure of someone's Spear Intent as well as other martial states. But not a single one of them had reached a Martial Heart state.
At last, Cao Yun felt a great pressure fall upon his shoulders. It was as if he had jumped under a powerful cascade. No doubt about it, Cao Yun and Hongyu had reached the defenses of the Hongchen Kingdom. Cao Yun's heart sank. This was the moment of truth. A strange clarity dawned on him. He had been extremely reckless. Indeed, if he failed, he would need several minutes to unseal his asura cultivation. For such numerous Accomplished Demons, it was more than enough time to kill him. Besides, the defenses themselves might just kill him anyway. Maybe he had been simply too eager to get back home.
It was strange, Cao Yun had been away for so long, he thought he could be more patient. But now that it was so close to him, he could barely control his desire to go back. He wanted to know what had happened to his friends and brothers, to his lover and his sister too. The closer he was to the Hongchen Kingdom, the stronger this emotion was. Even with his full mind cultivation, he couldn't suppress it. Or maybe, he didn't want to suppress it.
Anyway, now was the moment he would know whether the Hongchen Kingdom rejected him or not. Hongyu didn't slow down at all despite feeling the pressure as well.
Cao Yun felt a very familiar and yet distant presence around him. It was as if someone he had vaguely known a long time ago was watching him from a distance. After what seemed like an eternity, the intense pressure disappeared. Despite Cao Yun's perception of time, it had only lasted for less than a breath.
Behind Cao Yun, a few Accomplished Demons were not able to stop in time and quite literally crashed into thin air. Some were a bit injured as their speed suddenly reached zero. But none were killed. Those powerful demons were no different from birds smashing against a window. In a way, it was almost comical.
Cao Yun was home!