Soon, the five of them regrouped. When Bai Rou, with a hint of joy on her face, announced that she had found the target, she was astonished to hear that Sun Guoshu had already discovered the target's location.
Bai Rou thought the two targets had separated. After glancing at Sun Guoshu, she stated the location of the courtyard where her target was. But then she saw Li Yan give Sun Guoshu a strange look before saying to the other three, "It seems there's no mistake. The information from both of them is consistent!"
Only then did they realize that Sun Guoshu hadn't been searching in his assigned area but had, like a hunting dog, crossed zones to find the target in an extremely short amount of time and had returned early.
Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun's faces showed even greater astonishment. They looked at Sun Guoshu again and again.
Seeing the expressions on the three of them, Sun Guoshu felt a sense of pride, but on the surface, he said humbly, "I've spent years mixing in the markets and have just picked up a few tricks for finding people and things. I was just lucky today."
Li Yan looked in the southeast direction and said in a low voice, "Let's go!"
Now that everyone was gathered, they naturally had to go and confirm the target on-site immediately.
They had to get the restriction token that controlled the lives of the two Luoshu Lake disciples and escape Zhouyang Town with them before dawn.
It seemed like there was still a lot of time, but no one knew how long each step would take. Li Yan and his group still didn't have a complete plan and were just taking it one step at a time.
So on the way, the five of them each shared other pieces of information they had just gathered. After compiling this information, they each began to formulate plans in their minds.
Li Yan mentally sifted through this information, memorizing a few pieces he considered important. He felt they might be useful later, but he still didn't know the situation on the target's side, so a plan had yet to form.
Li Yan and his group quickly arrived in front of the courtyard Sun Guoshu had mentioned. It was only then that Bai Rou believed that Sun Guoshu had indeed found the target ahead of time.
The courtyard gate was half-open, and they could see figures moving about inside. Looking around, the streets were teeming with cultivators coming and going. For a moment, they had no idea how to proceed.
Yan Feijun sent a voice transmission, "If we make a move here, we'll immediately alert a lot of people. It will be impossible for us to leave then."
On the way here, Li Yan had finally explained some of the details. Of course, he still hadn't revealed the identity of the Luoshu Lake disciples. This was related to the plan of that Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator from Luoshu Lake. If the secret was leaked because of him, not even Wei Zhongran could bear the responsibility.
When Yan Feijun and the other two learned that before extracting the two inside agents, they first needed to obtain the restriction token from the leading demonic cultivator, they couldn't help but look at each other in dismay. Wasn't that something that could only be done by force?
This increased the difficulty of the mission several times over. Originally, they just needed to find a time to connect with the two inside agents and then take the opportunity to sneak them away.
Now, no matter what, they had to deal with the leading demonic cultivator first. This was the worst possible news. Although Hu Xiaowang and the other two didn't say anything, the expressions on their faces were definitely not good.
If they weren't already in the thick of it, surrounded by enemy cultivators, they probably would have had a long talk with Li Yan and Bai Rou. The two of them had hidden the most crucial information, instantly increasing the difficulty severalfold.
But after calming down a bit, the three of them could also guess that this must have been the intention of Peak Master Wei and Elder Chigong. Otherwise, Li Yan and Bai Rou probably wouldn't have done so. This was clearly because they were worried the others would have second thoughts.
Next, the group dispersed again and quietly made some inquiries in the vicinity. After the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, when they regrouped, they had a general idea of the situation of the demonic cultivators in the courtyard. The target in the courtyard should be the small squad they had seen from the mountain.
There was only one demonic cultivator leading them. The other one might have died in the recent mission or been temporarily sent elsewhere.
The first scenario would at least reduce the risk of their mission. If it was the second scenario, the absent demonic cultivator might suddenly return at any time, which was an unknown danger.
"So, how do we get close to them? And the hardest part is killing the leading demonic cultivator under the watch of so many people. This..." Yan Feijun looked at the ajar courtyard gate and said with difficulty.
His words, in fact, represented the thoughts of the others as well. As they spoke, they all looked at Li Yan. Right now, only Li Yan's transformed appearance was suitable for taking action.
Li Yan thought for a moment and said in a low voice, "We'll go over!"
He then strode directly toward the courtyard gate. His action stunned the other four at first, but then they could only follow.
However, they quickly understood. It seemed that walking in directly like this wasn't a bad way to get close. It was actually better than sneaking in or waiting for an opportunity.
Because, right now, they were also a demonic cultivator squad.
The excuse Li Yan needed now was that he was leading his squad to find a courtyard to rest. But he didn't know if the demonic cultivator teams in the courtyard were assigned lodging according to regulations or if they could just freely find an empty room in any courtyard.
He had no time to slowly figure all this out. He would just go in and improvise.
When Li Yan's group entered the courtyard, four demonic cultivators were standing in a small circle in the middle, discussing something in low voices. Around them, several human cultivators were on guard.
The sudden intrusion of Li Yan's group of five immediately caused the guards in the courtyard to surround them. The four demonic cultivators also fixed their gazes on Li Yan's group.
Li Yan paid no attention to the cultivators who had surrounded them. Instead, he pushed aside a cultivator in front of him and walked toward the four demonic cultivators.
These guards were all human cultivators. When they saw a squad led by a demonic cultivator approaching, they hesitated. After being pushed aside, they didn't continue to block the way, but formed a semi-circle, vaguely isolating Bai Rou's group of four from Li Yan.
Seeing Li Yan barge in so rudely, the four demonic cultivators frowned. But when they sensed the peak Demonic Soldier cultivation on Li Yan, the four of them didn't immediately flare up.
At this moment, one of the demonic cultivators shouted at Li Yan, "Fellow Daoist, you should at least ask before entering, shouldn't you?"
Demonic cultivators were usually very sturdy and tall, but this speaking demonic cultivator was only a head taller than an ordinary human male. This was actually considered very tall among humans, but among demonic cultivators, he was on the shorter side.
His voice was deep and muffled. He wore sleeveless armor, revealing thick, dark arms, and the patterns on his face were layered, much more numerous than the other three demonic cultivators, making it impossible to see his original features.
Li Yan still hadn't figured out whether the patterns on a demonic cultivator's body and face were tattooed on or if they were born with them.
Li Yan glanced around. The cultivator from Luoshu Lake was not in the courtyard. After sensing the auras of the four demonic cultivators, he confidently released his divine sense in the next moment, sweeping it across the various rooms in the courtyard.
At the same time, he withdrew his gaze from the surroundings. Under the unfriendly gazes of the four demonic cultivators, he finally spoke, "Oh, after reporting in, one naturally has to choose a place to rest temporarily!"
His tone was flat, without a hint of apology.
At that very moment, Li Yan's heart stirred, for he had discovered the room where the Luoshu Lake disciple was. This meant that after they entered, they would need to find a reason to stay.
Li Yan's words were ambiguous, leaving room for maneuver. Whether the teams were assigned lodging here by regulation or some other arrangement, he could handle it.
If the courtyards in the town were assigned according to regulations from above, then Li Yan could use the excuse of "going to the wrong place." As long as he could answer their questions without raising suspicion, he could then start spinning a tale, because Li Yan had already thought of a plan.
"This place is already full. Fellow Daoist, you should find another place!"
Sensing the pure demonic qi fluctuations from Li Yan, it was ultimately the short, sturdy demonic cultivator who spoke faintly.
At the same time, the group glanced at the four people behind Li Yan. When their eyes passed over Hu Xiaowang and Yan Feijun, they paused slightly. The words "Pseudo-Core Realm cultivator" appeared in their minds.
Such cultivators were highly sought after in squads. Among their four demonic cultivators, only the short, sturdy one had just entered the late stage of Demonic Soldier. In terms of realm, he was even inferior to Hu and Yan. This was why they didn't immediately turn hostile after sensing the aura on Li Yan.
This five-person squad actually had three Foundation Establishment masters. The strength of this squad was extremely impressive, surpassing many of the ordinary squads they had encountered. This was what the four demonic cultivators thought simultaneously. Thus, their words in driving Li Yan's group away were still relatively peaceful.
How could Li Yan leave now? Moreover, from the short, sturdy demonic cultivator's words just now, he had already gotten the answer: the courtyards in the town were freely chosen.
He scanned the area with his eyes. "I've looked for a few places, but there are too many cultivators gathered today, and every courtyard is packed. This mission didn't go well from the start, lost half my men. Now that I'm here, there are all sorts of miscellaneous things to deal with. It's truly vexing."
Li Yan put on an impatient look, then stared at the four demons, his tone softening.
"How about this? I see you don't have many people, and this courtyard is quite spacious. I wonder if the four of you could spare a room for my subordinates to rest in temporarily.
"The streets outside are crowded, and it's rather inconvenient to bring them along. I'll go find some friends quickly by myself, and when I meet up with them, I'll come back to pick them up. Would you be so kind as to accommodate us, Fellow Daoists?"
Since entering the courtyard, Li Yan had been speaking with the people in front. The four behind him, Bai Rou included, could only pretend to be silent. Their current status was that of cultivators under a restriction, so they couldn't even freely release their divine sense.
Therefore, for a time, they couldn't even confirm if the mission target was truly here. But they felt as if Li Yan had already confirmed the target; his words and actions all hinted at his intention to stay.
However, the four of them had been standing right behind Li Yan all along and had not sensed the slightest fluctuation of his divine sense. This meant that Li Yan was likely also wary of the demonic cultivators here and had not released his divine sense to probe. Yet, he acted with such certainty.
After Li Yan finished speaking, the short, sturdy demonic cultivator pondered for a moment but still shook his head. "We have several teams here. We can't just casually spare a room."
Li Yan's eyes narrowed. He thought to himself, 'Was the information I revealed just now not clear enough? Or was the piece of information that my group compiled, the one I thought I could use, actually false...'
Just as Li Yan narrowed his eyes and remained silent, the short, sturdy demonic cultivator thought he was displeased and about to make a move. He couldn't help but take a small step back, and another demonic cultivator moved back with him.