Since those cultivators were among the oldest, Cao Yun had a thorough understanding of Emperor Weide's orders. In fact, he had obtained the memories of the oldest member of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. He had been with them for more than six hundred years and had barely advanced beyond the 1st-grade Spirit Warrior. Looking at his life, Cao Yun saw an earnest young man. Like Ren Chao, he had come from a humble family and was a mere commoner.
After he was rejected by every major sect, he tried a few smaller sects and schools but didn't progress very far. Thankfully, he was welcomed into the military. Within the army, he was able to get promoted and had access to better resources. Besides, he was also helped by his comrades. Having a real feeling of belonging, in itself, helped his cultivation and reduced the risk of inner demons.
Although he was slower than most cultivators, the young man was steady. Unfortunately, he accumulated many injuries, both as a soldier and in his cultivation. Lacking in talent, he used pills and array formations more than he should have. In the end, he was able to go through the Lesser Tribulation, but his Soul Embryo was extremely weak and small. It took him half a century just to stabilize it. From that point, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would never go higher. Simply becoming a 2nd-grade Spirit Warrior might kill his Soul Embryo. Sadly for him, pills that could strengthen a Soul Embryo were so rare that he had no chance of getting one on the Piaolu planet. Thus, he focused his attention solely on his martial prowess and was able to enlist in an elite battalion.
Proving himself further, he joined the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. Since then, he had proven his valor several times. Even against Cao Yun, he had shown no fear while knowing it would be his end. Considering that he was almost eight hundred years old, most of his life was already behind him. Most 1st-grade Spirit Warriors could live to be a thousand years old, but with his weak Soul Embryo, he probably would have died within the next century, one way or another.
Honestly, it touched Cao Yun. If that man had lived in another era, he would have become a late Spirit Warrior at least. He might even have become a Sage. This Forsaken Dao Era was truly a plight for all mankind.
Anyway, within his memories, Cao Yun saw the subtle changes of Emperor Weide. At first, his missions were all in the interest of the Hongchen Kingdom and not specifically in the interest of the Emperor himself. However, a few missions here and there were given to the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards which lay outside of their previous purview. Usually, the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards were used to guard the Emperor himself in the Imperial City or wherever he was traveling. From time to time, they would be used to chastise a governor, or even discipline a general. But Emperor Weide used them to obtain some rare ingredients. Honestly, it wasn't that strange.
Later, they were sent to find specific ruins, both from the Legendary Era and from the Great Sorrow Era. Emperor Weide became interested in strange matters. Cao Yun was able to piece things together with all the information he had obtained. As it turned out, this change became truly apparent after the Demon King had found Demon God Da Mo's library. And this matter itself had happened soon after the coming of the Empyrean Asura. Most likely, all those events were linked. Empyrean Asura had made sure that the Demon King would find his library. And his plan had worked. The demonic cultivators had almost freed his body from under the Devil's Jail.
If Chief Elder Luoming Tian had not been defeated, Demon God Da Mo might have obtained his body back. Thanks to Emperor Nuwa's array formations, he couldn't know whether his body had formed, or where it was. So, most likely, it was just part of his plans. But Demon God Da Mo was definitely behind the rise of the demonic cultivators even though he hadn't directly controlled them.
Obviously, Cao Yun was wondering what the relationship between Emperor Weide and Demon God Da Mo was. Then he saw it, the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards had failed one mission. A small group had been sent deep into demon territory in order to assassinate the Empyrean Asura before he could rise to power. Considering the nature of the mission, only a few had been sent, all specialized in assassination and espionage. However, none had come back. By that time, it was already too late, Empyrean Asura was too powerful and influential. Thus, Emperor Weide stopped focusing on him. Instead, he ordered various secret missions to destabilize the demon kingdoms and even to help some of them against the Empyrean Asura Theocracy.
Looking through all the memories of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards that he had so far, Cao Yun saw a pattern. Emperor Weide had done everything he could to stop the Empyrean Asura Theocracy while staying hidden. In fact, he had even made secret pacts with a few demon kingdoms. Unfortunately, they had all been slaughtered. The rise of the Empyrean Asura was unstoppable. More and more, Emperor Weide turned to other means. The idea of breaking through had probably grown in his mind. As a Sage, he would have a chance to reach the Monarch realm, or even the Immortal realm. When this idea took root, nothing could get rid of it.
"Boy? Do you wish to go on?"
"I..."
"There's not even any fight. You know everything about them, killing them is as easy as crushing ants at this point. It doesn't feel very satisfying to be honest..."
Sadly, Dian Mo was right. With his current strength and with everything he knew, there was nothing good about annihilating his enemies. However, he had chosen a path and stuck to it.
"We need to make sure that they don't become a threat later on. Information is often more lethal than anything else. After all, because I obtained intel on them, they became extremely easy to kill. I can't let the Imperial City learn anything that could help Emperor Weide. Even knowing that they had some kind of enemy within would be a mistake. They probably saw my fight against Yan Huoling, one way or another. If they investigate a little, they'll be able to know that it wasn't the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu fighting her. Any cultivator would be able to guess that someone attacked and killed her. Even if they knew nothing else, in itself, it could be a problem. On the other hand, if I kill them, the time required for the Imperial City to send anyone to investigate should give me enough time to get ready. Killing them all is worth it."
Although it didn't feel good, Cao Yun felt he had no choice but to kill them. Deep down, he wasn't sure whether he was trying to find excuses or if it was actually the right course of action. A bitter taste flooded his mouth. Indeed, it was the exact same logic that had pushed the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards to kill his own family. They were convinced that it was the right thing to do even though they found it distasteful. Cao Yun couldn't ignore it.
The young man decided to stop himself, for the time being.
He sat cross-legged in the spot where he had slaughtered all those cultivators and meditated. To be honest, Cao Yun had no problem with killing people who had murdered innocent civilians. But he didn't want to turn into a killing machine. Besides the memories of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, he also had the memories of Axiu Qian. Slowly, the asura had let revenge swallow him until he slaughtered absolutely everyone around him in his madness. Obviously, Cao Yun didn't want such a fate. And, right now, he was feeling as if he was going down that path.
Within his sea of consciousness, Cao Yun appeared in the middle of the Nine Soul Peaks, surrounded by all seven of his Turbid Demons, all chained down by Axiu Qian himself. Sitting beneath the red hue of the Drop of Wrath, Cao Yun let all his emotions run wild. He didn't try to control them at all. Right now, he was trying to see through his own emotions and sort them out.
Outside, it lasted a double-hour. But within, it was almost an entire day, if not more. Finally, Cao Yun found his answer. He stood up and disappeared. During the next few hours, he went to all the groups of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. With extreme efficiency, he annihilated them all. Most of his victims didn't even understand what had happened before they were killed. However, what he changed was how he treated their bodies and souls. Instead of burning all the bodies, he decided to take them into his spatial ring.
On the matter of the souls, he also didn't burn them all. After all, it barely improved his Black Heart Flame. Since they were all early Spirit Warriors, their Soul Embryos were simply too weak to survive their physical death. Cao Yun made sure that the Soul Embryos were destroyed and then literally helped their souls escape from this desolate place full of Death Energy and Ghost Energy. Although he wasn't sure about his own beliefs concerning reincarnation, he did everything so that their Hun could potentially reach the Heavenly Court. He didn't take any more memories because he simply had no need for them with everything he had already learned.
Once he was done, Cao Yun took out brushes and some wooden planks. He wrote the names of every single man and woman he had just killed. All of their family members thought they were dead. Cao Yun would remember them and help their families as best as he could. Since they had given their lives to protect the Hongchen Kingdom, but had been perverted by Emperor Weide, Cao Yun would make sure that the Hongchen Kingdom was safe. He would make sure that their families were safe. Although he couldn't promise absolute success, he kowtowed before the thousand wooden planks and swore he would do everything in his power to defend mankind.
Despite all of that, Cao Yun had a guilty conscience. However, he had to admit that he did feel better, slightly.
Finally, Cao Yun stood up, put all the wooden planks in his spatial ring and went back to where he had concealed the seed of the Solar-Orchid Flame.
"So, what's your plan now?"
"I'll rest for a few days."
Cao Yun looked at his charred arm.
"I need to repair my flesh first. Still, I'll try to bond with the Solar-Orchid Flame, at least as much as Yan Huoling. Even if I can't control it, I should be able to keep it in my body. If she had a seed, it's possible that the Imperial City has other surprises, so I need to have as many trump cards as possible. Honestly, I truly need to find Brother Sun. With his help, all my plans would have higher chances of success. After all, he probably knows every single array formation in the Imperial City..."
"But for the time being? You'll go to the Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute?"
"Yes, I do think it's the best thing to do. Besides, with this new flame, going there is an even better idea. They might be able to help me control it better. However, it's not my main goal."
"Your girl?"
"No... I mean, of course, I want to meet her, but that's not my main goal either. Just... I mean, she's important and I do have to talk with her and... Why are we even talking about her?"
"I don't know, boy, tell me."
"Stop it. I just had some problems figuring out the right course of action and now you're throwing another problem at me. I don't know how I feel exactly. But, unfortunately, there are other matters that will keep me busy. In particular, I want to make some pills with the corpse of the Nine-Headed Bird of Chu. But, even that, is not my main goal. I need the help of Xiao Xuefeng, and if possible, Director Hua Fenfei. With them, I'll have the support of the three biggest influences of the Hongchen Kingdom besides the Emperor himself."
"It makes sense."
"Hopefully, I'll also get some information about Brother Sun. Honestly, without his help, I'm not sure we'll pull it off. We would need to study the array formations ourselves..."
"I'm sorry, what?! What are you trying to insinuate?! You think I wouldn't be able to see through the work of a kid?! Of a stupid brat?! Bring me close enough to the Imperial City and I'll decipher everything your amateur brother did."
Cao Yun could clearly tell that Dian Mo was pissed. Indeed, the spirit remembered all the array formations that Sun Liao had improved in the Wubei Sect, and it annoyed him that a human was better than he was. Of course, Cao Yun had not even tried to touch on the subject, but Dian Mo was just too sensitive about it. Thus, Cao Yun decided to have some fun with it. However, now wasn't really the time. He had just killed around a thousand people and he didn't feel like laughing.
Once their conversation was over, Cao Yun simply focused on restoring his arm. It did take him a few days. When he was a bit tired, he would focus on his cultivation. Now and then, he also opened the small metallic box containing the seed of the Solar-Orchid Flame. With all the memories from Yan Huoling, Cao Yun created more and more seals all around the seed. Slowly, he was preparing it to enter his own body. That would be another hidden trump card he could use.
Hopefully, he would have better control over the seed than Yan Huoling did, but he wasn't so sure about it. At the very least, he could unleash more power with it. But he probably wouldn't be able to fully control it either, not until he became a Sage. That being said, he was interested in seeing how his Rune of Fire would react to the seed.