Cao Yun was covered in blood as his Black Heart Flame was swirling all over the place, reducing the corpses to ashes while devouring what remained of their souls. All around the battlefield, there were about half a hundred cultivators, all slaughtered by Cao Yun. Most of the blood on his body and robe had come from his enemies as Cao Yun had barely gotten injured in the fight.
Thankfully, the Orchid's Ashes were the strongest cultivators in the entire 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, by a significant margin. Moreover, Cao Yun now knew absolutely every single tactic the battalion could use. He even knew all of the cultivators by name; he knew their ages, their cultivation methods, their backgrounds. On a battlefield, this was a nightmare. Their very strength, their discipline and incredible teamwork, were now their doom. Even if they could adapt to Cao Yun, they had no idea that he knew everything about them so they would simply adopt another tactic they had trained for. In fact, it was simply impossible for them to coordinate themselves without Cao Yun realizing it.
Above all else, if they tried to fight him without battle formations, their cultivation levels were simply too low to face a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon. Yes, hundreds of early Spirit Warriors could easily injure, and potentially kill, a 9th-grade Accomplished Demon, but this was only if they were fighting together as a unit, which was almost impossible now that Cao Yun knew all that. Besides, most cultivators in the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards were now 1st-grade Spirit Warriors or 2nd-grade Spirit Warriors.
Each year, the military would only produce a hundred Spirit Warriors, at most. From the various sects, schools, and clans, maybe two hundred cultivators would reach this stage every year, but none would join the military at this point. Mortal Warriors could still join, but Spirit Warriors had no incentive to join. On the other hand, cultivators who had been nurtured to the stage of Spirit Warriors by the military were extremely loyal. However, among all those Spirit Warriors, most would never be able to go very far afterward. Indeed, the way they had broken through the Lesser Tribulation wasn't very good. Either they were damaged beyond repair and simply couldn't cultivate their Soul Embryos without endangering them, or they were too old or lacked talent. Unfortunately, even those who had climbed higher were hindered by the current Forsaken Dao Era.
Within the cultivators outside of the army, the ratio of talented cultivators wasn't very high, but it was definitely higher. The reason was very simple, being able to reach this stage without the support of the entire military required more talent to begin with. For example, to join the Wubei Sect, one already needed to have a lot of talent. Of course, the military didn't recruit just anyone, but they could accept more candidates. Then, they had to fight to earn more resources & to be promoted higher and higher. Obviously, it didn't mean that the military wasn't talented, but many talented cultivators would try to get into sects first.
Within the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, the average age of the cultivators was around seven hundred years old. Each year, they could take in one or two Spirit Warriors. So slowly, the battalion could reform its ranks. With Cao Yun's current massacre, that historical battalion would clearly disappear. Even if the Hongchen Kingdom tried to rebuild it, it would take them decades, or even more, or they would have to reduce promotions of Spirit Warriors to other battalions or positions, to force them there, which wasn't a very good idea. Not everyone was meant to serve in the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards.
This time, Cao Yun had made sure to devour all of the memories he could. Not a single cultivator had escaped from him. Besides, Dian Mo knew perfectly well how to unravel all their soul seals. In other words, Cao Yun knew even more. All of those cultivators had taken part in terrible missions, including a couple of political assassinations and killings of civilians. But, at the same time, they had also valiantly protected the Hongchen Kingdom. The more Cao Yun studied their memories, the more he doubted himself. Although their crimes were obvious, they had all been commanded by Emperor Weide. Thus, Cao Yun began to waver.
As his doubts grew stronger and stronger, he had to remind himself that all those who would survive might become a threat to him, and, above all else, an obstacle to saving his little sister. Besides, they had all accepted the risks when they had joined the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. If their convictions were strong enough to let them slaughter innocent people, they had to be strong enough to face death as well. Deep down, Cao Yun was still looking for an answer. Indeed, he wasn't sure whether he fully endorsed their slaughter, or if he was just trying to come up with excuses. Honestly, it wasn't as clear as he had hoped it would be. Unfortunately, they weren't like some of the demons. They had not raped and tortured for pure pleasure. In fact, Cao Yun could even feel doubts and torments within their memories.
Apart from a few exceptions, the soldiers of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards had never liked killing civilians, especially children and elderly people. However, they had never failed to do their so-called duty. No matter their doubts and how it affected their conscience, they would always obey every order given by Emperor Weide. It was their strength and their downfall.
"Boy..."
"Words are useless. They can cry on their victims in secret, it won't change the fact that they are the ones who held the blade. Emperor Weide gave the order. Despite knowing how awful their mission was, they went through with it. And, more than that, they stayed within the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, knowing more similar orders would come. Not one of them regretted their actions enough to put their own life in danger. They were still convinced that it was for the greater good. Well, I'm not sure whether I'm acting for the greater good or not. I have no certainty on what's absolutely good or bad. But I know that I want to save my little sister and that she is absolutely innocent. So I will do what's necessary. Not a single one of them will leave this place alive."
As Cao Yun spoke, he could hear some memories echo within him. All of those cultivators he had killed had families. Not unlike Yan Huoling, all their families and friends were convinced that they were dead. However, it didn't stop them from watching over them. They would secretly watch their daughters and sons get married, have children of their own, continue their lineage. Among the soldiers, there were obviously painful tragedies. Honestly, some had suffered a lot and Cao Yun could empathize with their pain. But it didn't change his decision. In fact, it simply made him feel bad for what he was doing. However, he didn't shy away from this. Even criminals had families, he knew it. No matter what kind of evil they were committing, they always thought they were the good guys because deep down, they were serving a greater good. Although they couldn't necessarily see it at the time, they knew it would help more people than those they would hurt.
After making sure that there was nothing left of the group he had slaughtered, Cao Yun chose his next target. Now, all the remaining groups were weaker than those he had eradicated. In other words, Cao Yun would be able to kill them without any problem. Although his arm was still charred, he didn't need it to annihilate his enemies. Besides, his Black Heart Flame was getting stronger. Honestly, the difference was tiny at his current level, but it did increase in intensity slightly.
The young man saw his next target. This was a unit of around a hundred Spirit Warriors. In fact, it was the largest group, but also the one with the weakest cultivators. Apart from their 3rd-grade Spirit Warrior, they were all 1st-grade Spirit Warriors who were all above seven hundred years old. That being said, apart from their cultivation, their teamwork was nearly perfect. Indeed, they had the most experience together. Paradoxically, they might be the most dangerous after the Orchid's Ashes. Unfortunately for them, Cao Yun knew everything about them.
In order to safeguard their strength, they had hidden their battle formations from all but the leader of the 5th Imperial Brocade Guards. Indeed, Yan Huoling was the only one who needed to know them all apart from themselves of course. Sadly, her memories had been devoured by Cao Yun. So, currently, Cao Yun was the man who knew the most about all of their tactics, even among them. In other words, Cao Yun easily imagined a tactic to kill them all very effectively. He even used array formations and seals.
The company was gathered close to the decoy Cao Yun had buried underground. So he could also use it in his plan. Suddenly, the bones erupted from the ground. Immediately, the cultivators were ready to fight. Since they were looking for the Nine-Headed Birds of Chu, they wondered if that was it. Although that demonic beast had no reason to attack from the ground, the aura clearly belonged to it. In less than a second, they realized that it was only a bone, and thus a trap. Unfortunately for them, it was already too slow. Dozens of swords flew through the air and beheaded cultivators targeted by Cao Yun. They were all essential cultivators for several battle formations.
With this very first attack, Cao Yun had sealed many battle formations. In fact, he had more or less forced them to use a specific battle formation and they did. Even Cao Yun was surprised by their efficiency. The very next moment, they had positioned themselves as the 'August Arbiter of Fates'. Around them all, the ethereal form of a giant Daoist appeared. He was draped in a green robe. All around the old bearded man, there were scriptures. In fact, a particular parchment was almost forming a second robe all around his body. Many parchments unrolled and flew toward Cao Yun.
In a heartbeat, his Black Heart Flame burned the parchments and spread toward the old Daoist. Knowing the weakness of this battle formation, Cao Yun stabbed toward a cultivator in particular. Suddenly, a powerful backlash assaulted several cultivators here and there, weakening the entire battle formation. With their experience, most cultivators understood what was going on. This couldn't be a coincidence. So, this time, their leader didn't give any order. Instead, many of the cultivators went directly toward Cao Yun to block him while the fastest of them all tried to fly away. Since they knew that they couldn't kill him, they had to warn as many people as they could. Maybe they wouldn't be able to kill him, but if they could unite the entire 5th Imperial Brocade Guards, they had a chance of fighting him off. In the worst-case scenario, they still hoped to be able to warn the capital.
Suddenly, dozens of arrows rained down from the sky. This was Cao Yun's array formation. In an instant, all of those trying to fly away were suppressed. It only killed one cultivator who had not been prepared and had already been injured by the earlier backlash. However, the others were now on the ground and it would take them a few seconds to break free and fly away once more. Of course, they would never get those few seconds.
Cao Yun's Black Heart Flame was spreading. Now, the battle formation had completely collapsed since the cultivators had changed their strategy but the Black Heart Flame had been able to burn through the Qi and the spiritual senses in the air directly into the sea of consciousness of a few of the cultivators. Eight 1st-grade Spirit Warriors burst into black flames. Once again, Cao Yun had targeted them in particular to cause as much chaos as possible.
'Asura God Bathes the World in Blood'!
With only one hand, Cao Yun could not perform a sweeping attack with all of his strength, but it wasn't necessary at the moment. His spear swept through a vast ocean of blood and caused a terrifying wave to slash horizontally. This wave of pure blood was concentrated in Cao Yun's killing intent. Only a few cultivators were able to fully defend against it and around a dozen were simply killed on the spot, their heads cut from their bodies.
For several seconds, the battle raged. Despite decades, if not centuries, of training and experience, the lives of all those early Spirit Warriors were snuffed out in a matter of seconds...
This gave even Cao Yun pause. If he had been forced to fight them in the Imperial City, it might have taken him hours to kill them all. In fact, he probably would never have succeeded because reinforcements would have come to their rescue. Here, they were isolated and had no array formations to protect them effectively.
Once again, Cao Yun absorbed all the memories of his opponents before completely consuming their flesh and souls with his Black Heart Flame. Honestly, it wasn't to improve his Black Heart Flame, not at its current level. He simply wanted to get rid of any potential problem. There was absolutely no survivor, not even an ounce of their souls that could somehow expose anything to anyone. Short of sifting through Cao Yun's memories, no one could know what had happened here for sure.
Unfortunately, more memories meant a bit more guilt for Cao Yun. Besides, they were all quite old, so Cao Yun saw even more family members whom they were watching from afar. However, that meant that he also obtained more information on Emperor Weide. Although they were not privy to great secrets, they had been in his service the longest. Thus, Cao Yun had a better understanding of the orders he had given across the centuries.