Li Yan shook his head. "Can't be sure. We were shooed away by the Demon Lord!"
Li Yan knew what the other party meant, but he had no intention of boosting their confidence and gave an ambiguous answer.
Sure enough, when his words fell on the ears of the surrounding demonic cultivators, those who had been looking expectant all showed flashes of dissatisfaction.
This was especially true for the demonic cultivator questioning Li Yan. He looked Li Yan up and down several times, and under his gaze, Li Yan's expression grew uglier and uglier.
Seeing that Li Yan looked as if he was about to get angry, the demonic cultivator finally just snorted lightly.
"Actually, there's no need to see the result. Human cultivators are pathetically weak; they're bound to die. What were your orders? Which area are you to report to?"
Li Yan had already quietly released his divine sense long before landing. He needed to gather more information to avoid unnecessary mistakes.
To Li Yan's slight relief, the cultivators on the streets were only at the Foundation Establishment stage. However, there were five powerful auras emanating from within Zhouyang Town.
Those were the auras of Golden Core cultivators. Li Yan only sensed them at the edge before quickly withdrawing his divine sense to avoid alerting them.
But here at the town entrance, Li Yan could release his divine sense with impunity. As long as no divine sense from a Golden Core cultivator or higher came over, he had nothing to worry about. Thus, he easily eavesdropped on the conversations of the other cultivators being interrogated.
Right now, however, Li Yan was worried that the other party might ask him to produce some kind of token or proof. So, while eavesdropping, he was also constantly scanning the movements of others' hands with his divine sense.
"Ordered to report to the third area!" This was a sentence Li Yan had just overheard. He repeated it without hesitation, his tone already impatient, as if he felt he had been delayed here for too long.
A violent surge of demonic qi suddenly erupted from his body. His face turned ferocious, and he turned to roar at Bai Rou and the other three.
"Stupid human cultivators, hurry up and follow! If there are any more problems because of you, I'll directly detonate the restrictions on you, hmph!"
With that, as the demonic qi around him churned violently, Li Yan strode into the town. Bai Rou and the other three put on perfectly fearful expressions, lowered their heads without daring to speak, and hurriedly followed.
The interrogating demonic cultivator opened his mouth, but in the end, simply closed it. He had wanted to ask Li Yan to show his token for verification, but the other's sudden outburst made his heart skip a beat.
'My questioning and scrutiny must have provoked him,' he thought. 'Only one demonic cultivator returned, which means the other one must have died in battle.'
The reason he ultimately gave up on chasing after him for the token was that the aura that erupted from the previously calm Li Yan had reached the peak of the Demonic Soldier rank, nearing the level of a Demon Lord.
He hadn't sensed it before, which was why his attitude had been somewhat arrogant. Among the demon clan, the iron law of the strong preying on the weak was practiced to the extreme; the strong could kill the weak at any time.
It was only now, on the Desolate Moon Continent, where their numbers were limited, that they were strictly forbidden from killing each other, which was why the lower-level demonic cultivators had gradually become bolder.
The ease with which Li Yan controlled his aura confirmed to this demonic cultivator that Li Yan's cultivation had reached the peak of the Demonic Soldier Great Perfection stage. Otherwise, how could he hide his aura so proficiently?
At this point, he no longer dared to chase after him for the token. At the same time, Li Yan's words had attracted the attention of many people nearby, especially some human cultivators, in whose eyes a flash of hatred appeared before being quickly hidden away.
Seeing that the other party didn't pursue them, Li Yan inwardly sighed in relief. He led the four of them and quickly blended into the crowd.
However, Li Yan was also lamenting the loss of this Demonic Core from U Yuan. To intimidate that demonic cultivator just now, he had forced out nearly thirty percent of the demonic qi from the core in one go. Once this demonic qi entered the world, it truly dissipated into nothing.
This amount of demonic qi was enough for Li Yan to power a demonic clan magical treasure for a large-scale attack. He hadn't wanted to waste it so meaninglessly.
Even now, Li Yan was unaware that at the center of the Demonic Core, there existed an even purer Demonic Origin Power.
The demonic qi at the center of the core was wrapped in layers, almost indistinguishable in form from regular demonic qi. Only by sensing it carefully could one possibly discover the difference between the two.
But for Li Yan, even if he discovered it, he would only assume that the closer to the center of the core, the purer the demonic qi, without knowing the true power of Demonic Origin Power.
They walked into the town. Only after feeling the auras locked onto them from behind completely disappear did Li Yan and the others truly breathe a sigh of relief. The first step of the plan had been accomplished, albeit with some risk.
At this moment, the backs of Hu Xiaowang and the other three were still damp with sweat. It would be a lie to say they weren't afraid. A single flaw or a wrong answer just now, and a single punch from the other party would have left them without a complete corpse.
They exchanged glances, a chill still lingering on their backs, and looks of wonder appeared in their eyes. They understood Li Yan's deliberate outburst later, but they didn't know how Li Yan knew about the so-called "third area."
They had been equally worried about problems arising during the interrogation. But there were too many cultivators around, and some of the auras were so strong that even Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun were alarmed—the auras of half-step Golden Core cultivators.
In their hesitation, they naturally wanted to gather as much information as possible and listen to the news around them. But the moment their divine sense left their bodies, they sensed they were being watched and hastily withdrew it in fear.
So, in the end, they could only rely on their hearing. Although a cultivator's hearing was good, in such a noisy environment, they couldn't accurately capture much useful information.
And yet, in the span of two or three breaths, this Li Yan had acted as if he had known all along. This truly baffled the four of them. They hadn't seen Li Yan take out any magical treasure. To say that Li Yan's cultivation was far superior to theirs was something none of them would believe.
Except for Sun Guoshu. He was finding Li Yan more and more inscrutable, but he still didn't quite believe that Li Yan's cultivation could be that much higher than his own. Judging from the information he had gathered about when Li Yan achieved Foundation Establishment, it all seemed highly illogical.
These thoughts could only flash through the minds of the four for now.
"How do we find the two inside agents next?" Bai Rou, who was following behind, asked via voice transmission.
After entering, they certainly couldn't go report to the so-called "third area."
Li Yan didn't turn his head, but his pace had already slowed. He sent a voice transmission to the four of them.
"Look, there are already cultivators from the South Sea appearing alone on the streets. I suppose it's because the town exit is guarded by demonic cultivators. So if we all split up now, we shouldn't attract any attention."
Hearing this, everyone nodded. They had also been carefully observing their surroundings, and it was just as Li Yan said.
Li Yan continued his voice transmission, "This town isn't very large. It will be quick for the five of us to search separately. We'll meet at the altar up ahead in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
As Li Yan spoke, he stopped and gestured with his eyes toward a damaged altar in the middle of the street, about seventy or eighty feet away.
Although it was already dark, the lighting formations arranged in the town were already operating, illuminating the entire town brightly. So, it was easy to see clearly without even needing to focus one's vision.
...
After Li Yan and Bai Rou's group separated according to the areas they had marked out on the mountain, he moved alone through the crowds. The cultivators here were of all kinds: some with unfriendly expressions and sinister gazes, others with looks of weariness and deep fear.
The demonic cultivator Li Yan had transformed into, however, was left alone. Only when he encountered other demonic cultivators would they exchange a glance. Seeing that they didn't recognize Li Yan, they would ignore him and go about their business.
Along the way, while searching for the disciples from Luoshu Lake, Li Yan tried his best to eavesdrop on the conversations of people nearby. He actually managed to gather a lot of useful information. With each piece of information, Li Yan would constantly ponder whether it could be used in his plan.
After entering the town, although probing with divine sense no longer attracted special attention, Li Yan was still very careful. As he walked, he only quietly released his divine sense toward the courtyards on either side.
Soon, Li Yan had finished searching his area but hadn't found a single cultivator from the Clear Spirit Sect. Needless to say, Li Yan's search had failed.
Appearing as if he had finished some business, Li Yan returned along the original path to the pre-arranged meeting point. When he arrived at the broken altar, he saw Sun Guoshu already standing there, looking around.
The demonic cultivator Li Yan had transformed into was tall and particularly conspicuous. Sun Guoshu saw him from afar, and before Li Yan could get close to the broken altar, Sun Guoshu hurriedly came forward to meet him.
Seeing his manner, Li Yan's heart stirred. Sun Guoshu's actions weren't conspicuous here at all; he looked like a squad member reporting to his leader, Li Yan, and didn't attract too much attention from others.
From the first moment he saw Sun Guoshu, Li Yan had felt it was strange. His own divine sense was much stronger than the other's, and Li Yan considered himself to have returned quite early. Yet, unexpectedly, Sun Guoshu had returned even earlier, his search speed even faster than his.
Moreover, judging from Sun Guoshu's expression, he had clearly made some discovery, which gave Li Yan a sliver of anticipation.
Sure enough, the moment Sun Guoshu saw Li Yan, he sent a low voice transmission, "Young Master, the location of the inside agent has been found. It's about two miles from here. Their entire squad is currently assembled in a courtyard." As he spoke, he gently raised his arm, indicating the southeast direction of the town.
When it was just Li Yan and Bai Rou, he usually addressed Li Yan as "Young Master." Firstly, it showed that he hadn't forgotten Li Yan's kindness in promoting him.
Secondly, it was to constantly show that he was still the same person who had worked for Li Yan back in Peiyang Market, always ready to follow his lead.
Li Yan looked in that direction and also replied via voice transmission.
"Oh, you found it so quickly? Can you confirm their identity? By the way, isn't that direction the area Junior Sister Bai was responsible for? How did you end up there?"
Sun Guoshu was responsible for searching an area to the southwest.
"Reporting to Young Master, the situation can certainly be confirmed. However, their squad is not the only one in that courtyard. I took a quick look, and there should be about forty people, with four or five demonic cultivators among them. This should be the configuration of at least three squads.
"But I didn't dare to investigate further. After all, with my current status, it would be easy to attract the attention of the demonic cultivators inside.
"Hehe, as for finding people, that's something I'm quite good at. Just a little trick, nothing more. Once I got the news, I went straight to that courtyard.
"Back in the market, this was how I made a living. Just finding people and things, it's not worth mentioning."
Sun Guoshu didn't explain in detail how he had found the target so quickly. Li Yan knew these were his secrets, so he didn't press further.
However, he still replied via voice transmission, "Hehehe, Fellow Daoist Sun, you're being too modest. Your skills have rendered a great service today. Time is tight now; we must find them and bring them back quickly."
It seemed that bringing Sun Guoshu along this time was indeed a good choice. He had saved a great deal of precious time at a critical moment.