There was another reason for arranging for Li Yan to carry out this mission. When the Golden Core elders learned that Li Yan was the very cultivator who had assisted in obtaining the Realm-Breaking Pearl at the Xuanqing Temple, they came to deeply admire his meticulous mind.
"Master, how are we to find these two? Is there an appointed time? Or any other method of contact?"
Hearing the tone of Elder Chigong and his master, Li Yan knew there was no room for maneuver in this matter. He felt a wave of helplessness.
Li Yan was ten thousand times unwilling to go to the edge of the Demon Clan's army. If one thing went wrong, escaping would be incredibly difficult. No matter how fast he was, could he outrun the interception of Golden Core cultivators?
But things had come to this, and he could no longer show his reluctance. He could only do his best and make all necessary preparations first.
"I have an image jade slip of the two of them here, as well as the sect attire of the Clear Spirit Sect. However, we cannot be certain if they are still wearing the Clear Spirit Sect's attire.
"Furthermore, the time they appear in Zhouyang Town is also uncertain. Fortunately, Zhouyang Town is not very large. Even without using divine sense to probe, you should be able to determine if they are inside after some careful observation.
"After all, that place is only a temporary resting spot for them, not a long-term station. They should be coming and going quite frequently."
As Wei Zhongran spoke, a pure white jade slip appeared in his hand, which he then tossed to Li Yan.
Li Yan sank his divine sense into it for a moment, and two portraits appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. Both men had extraordinary bearings and were quite handsome, much more pleasing to the eye than Li Yan.
Li Yan then passed the jade slip to Bai Rou beside him, who immediately began to inspect it.
Then, Li Yan looked up at the two Golden Core cultivators and said slowly, "Master, Martial Uncle Chigong, this disciple has a few more questions that need to be clearly answered. Please inform me.
"One, is there a pattern to the times their squad goes out on patrol?
"Two, where is the usual patrol area for these two, and does it change often?
"Three, roughly how long did each patrol take in the past?
"Four, what is the cultivation realm of the two leading demon cultivators?
"Five, do the cultivators have any brief moments of being alone?
"Six, is their lodging place in Zhouyang Town fixed, or does it change each time?
"Seven, are there any demon cultivator guards around Zhouyang Town?
"Eight, in order to prevent the restrictions on those two from activating, we can only kill the demon cultivators and seize the restriction tokens from them. But in this process... if other accidents occur, causing the restrictions on them to activate and kill them, this may not be something we can control.
"Nine, even if we find these two, how will they confirm our identity and trust us?"
Li Yan half-closed his eyes, thinking as he spoke, raising nine questions in a row.
After hearing Li Yan's nine questions, Elder Chigong looked at the pondering Bai Rou and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
'How does this kid's brain work so well? He thought of so much in such a short time, and every question hits a key point. Just from these nine questions, it's clear this boy is meticulous down to the smallest detail.'
Then Elder Chigong thought of Bai Rou again and sighed inwardly. When it came to the path of mechanisms and puppets, he dared to boast endlessly about his disciple among the younger generation of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, leaving others speechless. But unfortunately, she was too simple-minded, believing almost anything anyone told her.
Immediately after, a hint of joy appeared in Elder Chigong's heart. With Li Yan being so meticulous, the success rate of this mission would increase by several tenths, and Bai Rou's life would have another layer of security.
This time, it seemed he had easily thrown Bai Rou out there, but in truth, he was forced by circumstances. This mission was extremely important, as it could win over a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator to risk venturing deep behind enemy lines. Even if it were ultimately decided that Elder Chigong himself had to go and bring back the two "Luoshu Lake" disciples, he would have agreed without hesitation.
Now, talking with Li Yan and Bai Rou, he had an unexpected surprise. This gave Elder Chigong more hope, and some of his previous worries had dissipated.
Seeing Li Yan slowly voice his questions, Wei Zhongran also thought more highly of this disciple. He thought for a moment, exchanged a glance with Elder Chigong, and then replied.
"Some of these questions we have already investigated beforehand, while others are still uncertain. We cannot fully answer all of your questions.
"Their squad goes out to patrol and hunt our scout cultivators about every three days, for five to ten days each time. The specifics depend on the actual situation at the time.
"The patrol area is divided, but it's not a very clear-cut region. This squad's activity range is approximately to the northwest of Zhouyang Town, but the size of the area is unknown.
"The two leading demon cultivators should be at the Demonic Soldier level, but this is only a guess, as the distress messages sent by those two did not contain much information. There were many things to explain, and they only mentioned that the two leading demon cultivators were very powerful. After discussing with your other martial uncles, we've determined that since the enemy has already placed restrictions on them, having two Foundation Establishment realm demon cultivators holding the restriction tokens is enough to suppress the entire squad. As for them saying the two leading demon cultivators are powerful, the highest cultivation among the two 'Luoshu Lake' disciples is only late-stage Foundation Establishment. If they were Pseudo-Core Realm demon cultivators, they would certainly be very powerful in their eyes. Moreover, among those of the same rank, demon cultivators are indeed much stronger than human cultivators, so it's highly likely they are at the Demonic Soldier realm.
"Whether the cultivators have time alone is unknown.
"Their lodging place in Zhouyang Town is not fixed. Although the two 'Luoshu Lake' disciples didn't specify this, we have had cultivators sneak close to that area, so we do have this information.
"The information we previously obtained is that there are no demon cultivator guards around Zhouyang Town. They are very confident in the crisscrossing divine sense probes of their Nascent Soul and Golden Core demon cultivators.
"Getting them to confirm your identity is also simple. I have a token here that can prove your identity. When they see this token, they will believe what you say.
"As for their life and death, just do your best to protect them. How can there be any guarantees in such matters?"
After Li Yan listened, he was not satisfied. It seemed Wei Zhongran had said a lot, but there was basically no definite information. It was either uncertain, unknown, or just Wei Zhongran and the others' own analysis.
However, he was able to confirm a few things. For example, although their patrol range was not given, Li Yan could roughly guess it. A patrol of five to ten days was the round-trip time. Given the flying speed of Foundation Establishment cultivators and the fact that the squad's main task was stealth, he could basically determine that their activity range would not exceed a radius of a thousand miles.
If they couldn't find the squad in "Zhouyang Town," then with a direction, they could try searching a thousand miles to the northwest. Then, using that as a center, Li Yan could try to release his divine sense. He could basically sense up to a thousand miles. As for whether he would actually do so, Li Yan hadn't decided yet; it would depend on the situation.
Of course, Li Yan did not voice these thoughts. He would make a decision after confirming the situation at the time, and he certainly didn't want others to know about his mutated-like divine sense range.
After Wei Zhongran finished speaking, a light flashed in his hand again, and a black gleam shot towards Li Yan.
Li Yan once again reached out and caught it. It was a small iron scroll book, only the size of a walnut, grayish-brown all over, looking very inconspicuous. But the moment it was in his hand, Li Yan felt it sink, its weight surprisingly heavy. The front of the iron scroll book was engraved with the character "Yu." When Li Yan turned it over, the back had a pattern of a lake.
After examining it for a few moments, Li Yan passed it to Bai Rou.
"Alright, you are clear on the mission. Now, discuss how you will choose the remaining three members and then give us your answer."
Wei Zhongran said in a deep voice. It was obvious that even if Li Yan and the others chose the remaining members, they would still need to be vetted by them, and it needed to be decided now.
This mission came suddenly. Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong simply explained the mission and then urged Li Yan and the others to take their next step. It seemed the matter was quite urgent.
After exchanging a glance with Bai Rou, Li Yan walked to the side and began to whisper with her. Not long after, Bai Rou and he returned to where they had been standing.
Bai Rou looked at Li Yan, who smiled slightly and gestured for her to speak. After all, she was the captain this time. He couldn't break the rules just because his master was the one in charge of Windy Cool Mountain.
Bai Rou nodded lightly and parted her crimson lips. "Hu Xiaowang, Yan Feijun, Sun Guoshu."
Hearing these three names, Elder Chigong and Wei Zhongran immediately recalled their information. With their memories, after looking at the information of everyone in the Ninth Squad, they had of course committed it to heart.
So Elder Chigong said with some doubt, "There's no issue with Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun. Both are at the Pseudo-Core Realm and are disciples of our Malevolent Spirit Sect. Moreover, both have their own specialties and can be considered top-tier in the Ninth Squad. Both of their temperaments are steady. I think they are very suitable for this mission. But what about that Sun Guoshu? He's just a rogue cultivator, and his cultivation is only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. Your squad has other Pseudo-Core cultivators, and at the very least, there are late-stage Foundation Establishment disciples, no?"
Hearing Elder Chigong's words, Wei Zhongran also nodded, agreeing with him. He also approved of the other two. Although this differed from the personnel they had previously discussed, it was still within the scope of consideration. But why did Sun Guoshu get the unanimous agreement of both Bai Rou and Li Yan?
Hearing their words, Li Yan rubbed his nose. He and Bai Rou were also only at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, though his was concealed, of course.
The Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun here were actually old-time Foundation Establishment cultivators. It was just that they didn't have the backing that Bai Rou and Li Yan did. Otherwise, for this mission, Bai Rou, as the captain, would have had to come to hear the details of the mission, but Li Yan would have been unqualified.
So, it was the same for both mortals and cultivators; there was always a matter of closeness and distance. Wei Zhongran said softly, "Explain your reasons for choosing these three."
Bai Rou glanced at Li Yan, indicating that he should explain this time.
"Hu Xiaowang is skilled in earth-element formations. He can instantly deploy a defensive line with perfect defense, making him an indispensable factor in the squad's offense.
"Yan Feijun is skilled in concealment formations. The formations he lays can almost perfectly blend with the surrounding environment, achieving a convincing illusion in both aura and form. He is the best candidate for stealth. If we encounter a strong enemy in pursuit, he can also provide the best concealment protection for the entire squad.
"Sun Guoshu, a rogue cultivator who has spent years in the Peiyang Market, is involved in a wide range of things, and his knowledge is unparalleled among cultivators of the same rank. Although his cultivation is not very strong, he has unique methods for both gathering information and escaping, which can greatly compensate for our lack of experience."