Seeing Li Yan destroy the jade slip and truly offer no further explanation, Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun turned to look at Bai Rou. Bai Rou just stared into the night ahead, seemingly lost in thought, showing no intention of explaining either.
Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun felt a little displeased. In the past, before setting out on a mission, the content and destination of the mission would always be clearly explained. But now, these two junior martial siblings were refusing to explain.
After exchanging a glance, a hint of gravity appeared in each other's eyes. It was clear that the importance of this mission far exceeded their estimations, to the point where even the destination had to be kept secret.
The two of them didn't even spare Sun Guoshu a glance. While their status in the Malevolent Spirit Sect was inferior to Li and Bai, they were still considered somewhat famous. How could they look upon this rogue cultivator? They were even cursing inwardly, wondering why they had to bring Sun Guoshu along.
On a normal day, Sun Guoshu's performance in the squad was not outstanding. It was said that he had some connection with Bai Rou, so no one found it convenient to say anything. Even if Sun Guoshu could complete this mission, he would only be an Outer Sect disciple in the future, never on the same level as them. So Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun didn't need to consider Sun Guoshu's thoughts at all.
Sun Guoshu, of course, was well aware of all this. As a rogue cultivator, he was used to such things. Although he was unhappy, he didn't show the slightest dissatisfaction on his face. He just stood quietly to the side, trying to guess their destination.
After flying through the night for only half an hour, Li Yan's group descended into a mountain ravine. The distance between Windy Cool Mountain and the Demon Clan's army was ten thousand li. With the speed of the Cloud-Piercing Willow, if Li Yan pushed it to its fullest, he could have reached the destination in just one night.
But in the end, they only flew for a little over a thousand li before they were forced to stop. From this point on, the number of enemy cultivator squads would gradually increase. Flying so openly, they would be spotted before they got very far. If they encountered cultivators from Windy Cool Mountain, it would be fine; they would just need to confirm each other's identities. But if they were spotted by enemy cultivators, their trail might be leaked, exposing their tracks.
"Junior Brother Li, is our target nearby?"
As soon as the five of them landed in the mountain ravine, Yan Feijun looked around and finally couldn't help but ask.
He had just secretly communicated with Hu Xiaowang. They thought that the informant left in the Demon Clan might have already come over and was hiding nearby, or would appear in some other way later. Logically, since they were sent to retrieve them, the two should have already been exposed, and there should be Demon Clan pursuers here. But for the moment, their divine senses did not detect any demon cultivators. They thought the two informants had not yet arrived. Since Martial Uncle Wei had given them a fifteen-day deadline, he had likely taken into account that it would take some time for the two informants to arrive. All they had to do was set up defensive and concealment methods here. When the time came, they would retrieve the two, kill the pursuers, and the mission would be considered complete.
Li Yan and Bai Rou exchanged a glance. From now on, they could no longer fly so openly.
Li Yan thought for a moment. To sneak all the way there, it was necessary for the other three to know the destination. According to Wei Zhongran and Elder Chigong's original intention, they were only to be told the destination when they were close to "Zhouyang Town." Li Yan felt that telling them now would be more conducive to the operation. Besides, the three of them should have already had some kind of restriction placed on them by his master. If they had any untoward thoughts, they might suffer a backlash, so there was no fear of them having malicious intent.
So Li Yan shook his head. "This is not the meeting point. From here on, we must start to be truly careful and vigilant. Our final destination is the edge of the Demon Clan's army, a place called 'Zhouyang Town'."
"What? The edge of the Demon Clan's army?"
Almost as Li Yan expected, Hu Xiaowang and the other two exclaimed in low voices in unison. If they hadn't constantly reminded themselves that they were on a mission, they might have shouted out loud.
Although they had carried out many missions, most of them were defensive in nature. So they basically operated within a few thousand li of Windy Cool Mountain, hunting enemy scouts. It was actually the demon cultivators who came to the edge of Windy Cool Mountain more often.
Now, suddenly hearing that they were to sneak to the edge of the Demon Clan's army—although some cultivator squads would occasionally go there, it wasn't many. At least, they had never carried out such a mission. Once discovered, with a nearly ten-thousand-li journey back, what confidence did they have of escaping safely?
The three of them suppressed their shock. Although they had heard it with their own ears, they still hoped to hear the final confirmation from Li Yan and Bai Rou's mouths.
Li Yan just nodded helplessly and then spread his hands. Only then did Hu Xiaowang and the other three realize why the promises given by the two martial uncles earlier were so generous. Just the fact that they were given fifteen days already showed that this mission could not be easily completed.
Sun Guoshu gave a wry smile, glanced at Li Yan, then shook his head gently and sighed, thinking, "I was quite grateful to you and Miss Bai before, but you're dragging me along to die with you. Normally, carrying out missions near Windy Cool Mountain is already nerve-wracking, and now we're going straight to their doorstep. Once discovered, what chance does even a Golden Core cultivator have of escaping? I really don't know what these higher-ups of the Malevolent Spirit Sect are thinking. My life is cheap, but Li Yan and Bai Rou are their direct disciples. Their status is incomparable to that of ordinary Malevolent Spirit Sect disciples."
"Everyone, from now on we must proceed by stealth. Taking into account the need to avoid numerous eyes and ears, I estimate it will take at least three days. The return trip will also take about three days at the fastest. The remaining nine days will be the most time we can use. But all of this is under the assumption that everything goes smoothly. If any accident occurs along the way, we might have even less time."
In fact, this was the most time Wei Zhongran and the others could buy for them. If Li Yan's group failed to find the "Clear Spirit Sect" cultivators in "Zhouyang Town," they would have to immediately expand their search outwards.
With that, black spirit power surged from Li Yan's body, enveloping him. In a moment, he had changed out of his Malevolent Spirit Sect attire and was now wearing a set of gray long robes.
At the same time, a faint white mist rose from Bai Rou's body. Instantly, a set of tight-fitting black clothes appeared on her, almost blending into the surrounding dense forest. However, this outfit accentuated her exquisite figure, making her curves tantalizingly prominent. Her perky buttocks, in particular, sparked endless imagination. Seeing the gazes of the others unconsciously sweeping over, Bai Rou's face turned crimson, and she could only pretend not to notice.
Hu Xiaowang and the others were also old hands in the martial world. Seeing Li and Bai like this, they naturally knew what they had to do. Apart from Sun Guoshu, Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun also quickly changed out of their sect attire, likewise donning ordinary clothes. Yan Feijun, in particular, began to look somewhat illusory. He had directly applied his most skilled small-scale aura-concealing restriction formation to himself, causing his aura to almost completely disappear.
Seeing this, Li Yan couldn't help but praise in a low voice, "Senior Brother Yan's methods are indeed impressive."
The others also nodded in agreement. To facilitate speed of movement, Yan Feijun had clearly not fully activated his concealment method. Even so, one could see his remarkable skill in formations.
"I've made a fool of myself in front of Junior Brother Li and the others. These are just some minor tricks. When the time comes for collective aura concealment, I have another set of formations that should be able to hide all of us."
Yan Feijun spoke modestly, but he was quite proud inwardly. From now on, although the five of them would still travel together, it would basically depend on each person's own abilities. This was evident just from the fact that Bai Rou was willing to show off her figure in a set of tight-fitting black clothes.
"Fellow Daoist Sun, how about you scout ahead?" Li Yan said, neither confirming nor denying Yan Feijun's words, suddenly speaking to Sun Guoshu who had been standing silently to the side.
"Me? Oh... oh... okay, of course... I can do that."
Sun Guoshu was inexplicably assigned to be the vanguard scout by Li Yan. He didn't react for a moment, but then he agreed.
If there weren't four Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators here, but rather cultivators from various requisitioned sects, he would have suggested they hang around the area for ten days and then return directly to Windy Cool Mountain. He didn't want the so-called reward either. What could be more important than saving his own life? But among the five people here, four were from the Malevolent Spirit Sect. He didn't dare show even a hint of dissent, or he might die right here, sacrificed to the heavens by them.
Li Yan's arrangement made even Bai Rou feel baffled, let alone Hu and Yan. Sun Guoshu was known for slacking off in the Ninth Squad of the Heavy Peak Battalion. Many people didn't know how he was transferred to the Ninth Squad, thinking it was just his good luck. His combat power during missions was average, and there was nothing noteworthy about him. Perhaps the best thing about Sun Guoshu, the rogue cultivator, was his good social skills. He could chat with almost anyone, and he was slick in his dealings. And he would often say flattering things to Bai Rou. Although everyone knew about his bootlicking skills, Sun Guoshu got along well with others, so no one said anything about it.
But now, Li Yan had actually arranged for Sun Guoshu to be the forward scout. This task was extremely important. One mistake, and the entire squad could be doomed by him.
Yan Feijun had thought he would be doing this task. In the Ninth Squad, he was indeed responsible for it. But why was this Li Yan acting so recklessly today? He sneered inwardly but didn't fight for it, thinking it would be best if they were discovered by the enemy after just a few li. Either they would annihilate the opponent, or this mission would fail, and they wouldn't have to risk going to the edge of the Demon Clan's army.
Hu Xiaowang, however, pondered for a moment before speaking up to dissuade him. "Junior Brother Li, our Ninth Squad has always had Junior Brother Yan and two others handle the forward scouting missions. They are quite well-versed in concealment methods. Of course, I'm not saying Fellow Daoist Sun can't do it, just that he may not be skilled in this type of art..."
At this point, Hu Xiaowang stopped and looked questioning. Li Yan just smiled faintly. "Senior Brother Hu, Fellow Daoist Sun's abilities are far from what he usually shows."
Li Yan's words made Hu Xiaowang curious. It seemed Li Yan was also quite familiar with Sun Guoshu. He hadn't expected this rogue cultivator, who only seemed to have some connection with Bai Rou, to also have some relationship with Li Yan without anyone knowing. Since that was the case, Hu Xiaowang just nodded lightly.
But Yan Feijun, on the side, looked Sun Guoshu up and down, a trace of disdain flashing deep in his eyes.
Li Yan had arranged for Sun Guoshu to be the forward scout. He was now certain that Sun Guoshu was by no means as mediocre as he appeared. Li Yan's perspective was no longer as narrow as it used to be. After these few years outside, his understanding of these rogue cultivators had deepened.